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Susan March 14, 2019

How to Embrace the Ordeals of Life

When I was young, I thought adults were liars, or exaggerators. In elementary school, I heard my parents say, “You know, money doesn’t grow on trees. You’ll understand what that means, one day.” I didn’t believe them. If you have a checkbook, you must have money. Right? When I moved into my teens, teachers told
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Susan March 7, 2019

The Value of a Good Name

When I am introduced to people, after I give my name, they often reveal I am a middle school teacher. This revelation often carries with it a stunned look from many I’m meeting and it morphs into a soft, Oh, you poor thing, look. Experience has granted me the ability to identify this daze and
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Susan February 28, 2019

I am a Murderer

The first time I saw “Lois”, she presented as a kind, helpful person. She surprised me by asking about myself; something few people did in the new job I had just gained. Lois was quick to inform me she was a friend to extended family members of mine and shared values I held. How Lois
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Susan February 14, 2019

Knowledge is Power – but of Good or Evil?

Saturday mornings as a child, I would jump out of bed, rush to the kitchen and get a bowl of my favorite cereal (unless my brothers had already eaten all of it). I’d carefully carry my milk and cereal-filled bowl to the family room and eat while watching cartoons. I’d crunch my way through my
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Susan February 7, 2019

Justification – Just Another Excuse

As a teacher, I have seen my share of excuse notes from parents. Most of them are typical, “Please excuse Bobby from school because he was sick.” There are some, however, that are just so ridiculous, I have to laugh. I wish I had collected these gems through the years but the ones I’ve seen
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Susan January 31, 2019

The Price of Inaction

As a teacher of many years, I have seen many extraordinary things, some good, some bad. One year, I saw a beautiful girl go with a disabled student to the senior prom just because he asked her. I’ve witnessed groups of students help another in a medical emergency, doing what I asked without question. I
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Susan January 24, 2019

Hope in Desperate Times

A few years ago, I read an account of a Lithuanian family who were arrested and placed in Siberian Work Camps under the Joseph Stalin regime. I have read and studied the horrors millions suffered under Hitler but, I’m embarrassed to admit, I was not aware of the horrific atrocities many bore under Stalin’s thumb.
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Susan January 17, 2019

The Appeal of Garbage

I have a dachshund, though he’s 4 inches from the ground, is determined to get into our garbage. I thought he would out-grow this irritating habit, but, he has not. One day, when I came home from work, he had had an impromptu party and he left tissue confetti all over the living room. He
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Susan January 10, 2019

The Responsibility of Freedom

There are so many stories I could tell about the things I observed and heard within the walls of my classroom over the last three decades. The first half of my career, I taught high schoolers but I have spent my second half with middle school kids. When people ask me what grade I teach,
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Susan January 3, 2019

An Epidemic of Entitlement

“Man is not, by nature, deserving of all that he wants. When we think that we are automatically entitled to something, that is when we start walking all over others to get it.” ― Criss Jami I have worked with teens and preteens for over 30 years and part of the reason I have done
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