Part of my Why I Teach series. I taught at Chicago’s Harper High School for 6 years. While I was there, only 6% of my students were reading at grade level and the school was consecutively listed as one of the bottom 3 high schools within the 60 or so high schools that were a […]
Category Archives: Living Life Fully
One of the most enduring pieces of advice that former Recovery On Water Programs Director Devlin gave me was the idea that you embrace the trials and tribulations, the struggles, the hardships, the challenges in one’s life, so that when things get difficult the next time, you know you have persevered through the bad stuff […]
Wishing all much health, hope, love and happiness throughout this most unique of holiday seasons–and in the new year!
For the past number of years, Chicago Public Schools has collaborated with Google to present a summer tech bootcamp called Googlepalooza (named after the big summer concert festival that is now housed in Chicago, Lollapalooza) where teachers are able to attend a variety of sessions to learn various tech skills and tricks to help prepare […]
During this pandemic, I’ve definitely watched more movies–and really engaging series–at home than read books. So many options with cable/DirectTV, Hulu, Amazon, and Netflix, helping many of us cope. I love movies and movies are very intertwined with all my memories. Of growing up in the ’70s and ’80s, of college and of Peace […]
In August, out of the blue, I was invited by writer Julia Barnicle at Inviting Ease and Flow into Everyday Life to contribute to an ebook compilation she was putting together about some of the lessons writers have learned this year while living full lives during the COVID lockdown. I was super excited and said […]
Here in Chicago, daylight is shrinking and we’ve had a lot of grey days, as well as chilly weather. That combination in a normal year can make for a lot of moodiness. In this year of COVID, the issue is definitely magnified and I am seeing major moodiness in myself, as well as others. I’ve […]
So, I finally upgraded from my mom’s iPhone5 to an iPhone SE a couple of weeks ago. Not that big of deal, right? Wrong. I’ve had the same Chicago cell phone number for at least the past 19 years, but along with living in 7 or 8 different residences during this time, I’ve had a […]
I attended Northern Michigan University, located in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, for my undergraduate studies. It is a beautiful, yet isolated, place, within walking distance of Lake Superior, and because of its isolation, there was always a concerted effort while I attended to have a very strong student affairs program with lots of concerts, performances, movies, […]
This has definitely been the year of constant adjustments–to our expectations, relationships, employment situations, and understanding of time. Thanks to COVID, this Thanksgiving in the United States was markedly different than those in the past, that is for sure. I am grateful that I had a few extra days to decompress, eat yummy food, rest, […]
