This past Saturday evening we attended a “Strawberry’” yard party at a good friend’s home. The strawberries were yummy and the friendships even better. The weather turned out perfect, and the potluck dishes were delicious. Arriving home at 9:30, I rushed to the TV to see the football score; hoping, and praying, that our …
Sometimes I worry that I’m not a very good teacher. It’s not that I’m inexperienced or unskilled or lacking in knowledge of my course content and basic ideas on pedagogy, curriculum, and instruction. After thirty years in the classroom, both in public and private schools in the United States and abroad, I am undoubtedly a …
UNPACKING THE BACKPACK – Teacher, or just Presenter? Read More »
In my last column I provided an overview of my South Pacific Island Hopper adventure trip. There is nothing wrong with camping out at a Hawaiian beach resort for a week, on Kauai or the Big Island, but sadly not Maui these days. But if you want a real look at the South Pacific islands, …
THE EYES HAVE IT – Where did I hop on the Island Hopper Read More »
In a column for Education Week, writer and teacher Larry Ferlazzo assembled a series of essays promoting the idea of “Art in Every Class.” As an educator, writer, artist, and art aficionado, I was intrigued by that idea. Art plays a significant role in children’s brain development, and it can be an engaging way to …
UNPACKING THE BACKPACK – A mathematician’s lament Read More »
Attack on the Fourth Estate I have longtime friends, Steve and Cynthia Haynes, who have owned newspapers in Kansas; they had newspapers in the San Luis Valley and sold them years ago, purchasing a chain of weekly newspapers in Western Kansas, working out of the Oberlin headquarters. They recently sold their five Kansas weeklies to …
“We need a mandatory class in high school for all students that teaches basic finance and life skills.” In my thirty years as an educator, I’ve heard many suggestions from people outside education about what “schools should really be doing.” Ideas range from personal finance to basic household maintenance to interpersonal communication and letter writing. …
Banks earn on the margin between cost of funds (deposit cost) and income from asset (loans and bonds). When the Fed Reserve raised rates 525 basis points in a year, the cost of funds or the amount banks pay to depositors went up in step. Bank costs rose substantially and reduced margin. Usually bank asset …
Fed policy has profound effect on banks and business Read More »
Received the sad news that longtime Greenwood Village resident John Fielder, now residing amidst the magnificent Colorado Rocky Mountains in Summit County, has succumbed to pancreatic cancer at age 73. I treasure my Fielder books of majestic mountains. Among my favorite of his massive works of 200,000 negatives is the book, “Colorado 1870 to 2000.” …
My latest travel adventure with my globetrotting son was to the South Pacific. It was a fun trip, adding three new countries to our travel tallies. Today I will write an overview of the trip and in my next column I will be get into more specifics. We took United Airline’s Island Hopper route, launched …
THE EYES HAVE IT – Hopping through the South Pacific islands Read More »
In my last column of May, as the school year wrapped up and I prepared to take a writing break, I shared my thoughts about the Class of 2023, a group I sincerely think of as “just really good kids.” This week, as summer vacation fades in the rearview mirror, and my wife and I …
UNPACKING THE BACKPACK – Advice for College Freshmen Read More »
