Honoring the journey—then and now
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Why I’m Never Going Back to the Classroom
I admire my retired friends who go back into the classroom. My book club and mystery-trip group are filled with educators who could venture back into the hallways of academia. Some do! Not me. Teaching has changed. As I occasionally scroll through Facebook and X, I see some alarming posts. Teachers complaining about student behavior being…
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I thought I was so smart …
… then the bunnies outsmarted me. What’s up, doc? A rabbit is back. Or maybe it never left. You might know that my son recently built a new gate in the fence for me. It’s lovely. But it also has become an obstacle for the rabbits who used the gap below the old fence as their…
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Reconstruction Diary Meditations: The Battle of Walnut Grove
Sunday, September 23, 1866 Lizzie went to Spiceland meeting to bring Hannah Lymons to our house. She went to Uncle David’s for dinner, then to Jason Williams with H [and] L. Jason and his son Joseph are both sick; their recovery is quite doubtful. Mother went to meeting riding with Lizzie as far as S…
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Grief By the Numbers at Five Months
After… 28 years of marriage3300 nights together23 weeks since Jerry died153 days since Jerry died3 times I’ve left the house wearing mismatched socks8 physical books I’ve read6 times I’ve snapped at someone who is just trying to help me7 days I have baked goodies20 times I’ve remembered the day we met148 mornings I’ve kept to my chronological Bible-reading plan5 times…
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Reconstruction Diary Meditations: Who, What, Where?
Keeping track of all the names mentioned in Mary Jane’s diary is a real challenge. She interacted with or mentioned over 200 people in the course of this one year in her life that she recorded. Impressive for a rural Indiana woman! Saturday, September 15, 1866 Mother and Milton started out to Plainfield to attend…
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Six Things K-12 Education is Keeping From You and Your Student
Twenty-five years after 9/11 and retired from the classroom, I’m still incredulous that we powered through a state testing session before telling our students about the attack. Today, I‘m thinking about what else educators kept from kids during my own twenty-five years in the classroom… and what was kept from their parents. 1.) Your “permanent…
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Reconstruction Diary Meditations: Expansion Excitement
Saturday, September 8, 1866 Quarterly meeting today which was large. Several foreign preachers were there: Robert Douglas & Cyrus Carter from Ohio, also Benjamin Fulghum, John Carey & Joshua Jeffreys from different parts of our own state. A proposition for to establish another quarterly meeting to be composed of Carthage and Walnut Ridge monthly meetings…
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Are You a Finicky Writer?
“Finicky” and “high maintenance” aren’t usually words that describe me- at least, so I’m told. But I may have a few idiosyncrasies when it comes to writing. When I’m writing in one of my many notebooks or journals, a gel pen beats a scratchy old Bic any day of the week. My current fave is…
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The Most Acclaimed Bad Novel I’ve Ever Read: “The Underground Railroad” by Colson Whitehead
Colson Whitehead’s historical-fiction novel The Underground Railroad was published in 2016, and rare praise wasn’t far behind it! The book won a National Book Award, a Pulitzer Prize, and a host of other prestigious commendations. It’s the story of Cora, a young woman who flees slavery on a Georgia plantation via the storied grassroots escape…
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Reconstruction Diary Meditations: My Fair Lady
Friday, August 31, 1866 Milton and I went to the Fair today; saw quite a number of very nice things, among them a knitting machine which knits stockings very completely, and a great deal of fancy work. I saw quite a number of friends whom I was glad to see. [I] heard that Wm Wales…
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