Once upon a time, in a faraway village, I walked into a shoe store, with only one object in my sights. The shop was tiny and smelled of leather and glue, for they repaired shoes as well as selling them, and along every wall were shoes of every shape and size, from house shoes to…
Tag: school
In The Bike Lane
The first time they rode in a real bike lane—not the sidewalk or a wading pool, not an empty parking lot or a school playground—I saw my daughters’ lives flash before my eyes. But not precisely the way you think. I promise. It was this spring, the first genuinely hot May morning, when we woke…
Fake Grass & Real Friends
The odd thing about this form of communication is that you’re more likely to talk about nothing than something. But I just want to say that all this nothing has meant more to me than so many somethings. You’ve Got Mail (1998) I don’t remember whose idea it was to sit down in the first…
Popsicles and Playdates
We’ve only been here for forty minutes, but I’m wondering if it’s time to go. I’ve already met a dozen other parents, wearing a name tag bearing both mine and my daughter’s name on it. I’ve squinted across the top of my mask at half-familiar faces, a couple I recognize from college and a woman…
Preschool
I have a complicated relationship with preschool. Complicated because, as an educator, I know it’s important. I’ve read the articles, seen the case studies, have a passing knowledge of the demographics suggesting that early childhood education is a strong indicator for later academic success. I want everyone to go to preschool, and I want it to…
On This Year Without A Spring
As far as unpopular opinions go, I’ve never been terribly shy about disliking spring. It’s nothing personal; it’s not even universal. I don’t like spring in Seattle, and it’s all about the weather. Dreary autumns and rainy winters feel appropriate, but when spring declares itself with still mostly rainy days that are maybe five degrees…
Appreciation
I went to ninth grade afraid. Like many students who leave Christian schools, I entered the “real world” (in my case public high school) with a head full of warnings. I was somewhat apprehensive that in my first month of school I—a fourteen-year-old honors student, a decent violinist and a mediocre volleyball player—would be ridiculed…
This I Believe 2012: Seasons
I’ve shared with some of you in the past that my students start each year with their own statements of belief, in the form of a “This I Believe” essay, modeled on the National Public Radio segment of the same title. With the start of school three days away, here’s a look into my teacher…
At the Ghost Fair: Wealth and Education
Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having…
Outward Spirals
It’s never too late to change the pace. Oh, how the days creep up on you, But the goodness is something you don’t have to chase ‘Cause it’s following you. And all you’ll hear is the music. And beauty stands before you. And love comes back around again, It’s a carousel, my friend. Vanessa Carlton,…
The Way Home 