Caring… How one life was saved 22 Jan 201513 Jun 2015 Near the end of her unplanned pregnancy, a young woman said, “I could never have an abortion--I knew someone would want him!” How right she was. Her baby is now…
Children… Work like a kid 23 Dec 201413 Jun 2015 "The great thing about getting older is that you don't lose all the other ages you've been. - Madeleine L'Engle, author of A Wrinkle in Time. Remember how hard you worked…
Books… Reading is for Babies 25 Jun 201413 Jun 2015 The American Pediatrics Association says, "Immunize your children against illiteracy." NPR's Audie Cornish interviewed Professor Susan Neuman about new evidence showing that the younger you read to your children, the better. Reading benefits babies,…
Academic Writing… Grade Inflation: What’s Really Going On 3 Sep 201213 Oct 2012 I had the dubious honor of starting college during the first crackdown on grade inflation. My professors overtly ensured that every grade on our transcripts was hard-earned. Then I immediately…
Children… Oh, the Places You’ll Gather Memories 2 Jul 201213 Oct 2012 At Brenna Martin's high school graduation, she received a surprise that took her father Bryan 13 years to prepare: a favorite Dr. Seuss book filled with comments from all her…
Blogging… My International Guests 26 Oct 201124 Oct 2011 "If you are writing the clearest, truest words you can find and doing the best you can to understand and communicate, this will shine on paper like its own little…
Children… Are the Classics Wasted on the Young? 19 Oct 201113 Oct 2012 My ambitious sixth grader is reading Moby Dick, the unabridged. He wasn't sure he understood it, though, so I offered to read with him. After all, it's been on my…
Caring… Hamlet in Prison 12 Jul 201111 Jul 2011 Jack Hitt's hour-long report for This American Life on Hamlet performed by prisoners, originally broadcast in 2002, has inspired me all week with its deep insights about Hamlet and encouragement for…
Business… How to Succeed in American Business 11 Jul 2011 Teaching in a multicultural environment often includes overtly explaining American business culture and helping students practice that language. For starters, there's the direct eye contact, the body language, the smiling,…
Baby Boomers… Beginning Again? 18 Jun 201118 Jun 2011 Does it feel as though you're always starting over? I'm beginning new projects, new rounds of old projects, new teaching quarter. Therefore, clients and students are doing the same; some…
Advertising… Your Brain on Ads 14 Jun 201114 Jun 2011 Take a therapist who trained her daughter to watch media, including ads, with critical attention. Now imagine this daughter, Maya Cueva--already a journalist while still a teenager--not only applying that…
Business… Summer Survival 11 Jun 20119 Jun 2011 Is summer over yet? Oh, yeah, I don't have a break. And my children do! So here's what I want--or rather don't want--for me (and everyone around me) to be…