It’s a word that comes up in conversations around the end of the year holidays. Hope. The word has gotten used a lot this whole COVID year, as in HOPE FOR A VACCINE! Hope came up quite a bit in OPEN ADMISSIONS: WHAT TEACHING AT COMMUNITY COLLEGE TAUGHT ME ABOUT LEARNING, and it keeps showing … Continue reading TURNING POINTS—Hope, Hope, Hope
TURNING POINTS—Turning Wooden Spoons
Holidays can end all at once, like the final jingle bell note on the radio’s last Christmas song at 11:59 PM on December 25. Thanksgiving, on the other hand, lingers on in most households. In fact, some would argue that the post-Thanksgiving uses of cooked turkey equal or top the big day’s feast. Before the … Continue reading TURNING POINTS—Turning Wooden Spoons
TURNING POINTS—Looking for Hope and Gratitude
The pair in the main photo had their eyes riveted on me as I walked away from the car that particular afternoon. For them, every return that Kathleen or I made to the car represented a miracle that warranted celebration. Living in hope. That’s dogs. Being anthropomorphic—after all, one of the great joys of including … Continue reading TURNING POINTS—Looking for Hope and Gratitude
TURNING POINTS—Family and Rugby Culture Launch an International Life
The post a few weeks ago about “reciprocal determinism” prompted a reply from the son of very old friends. Ian Hincken (pictured with his Dad, Ed) shared how Albert Bandura’s psychological concept neatly explained how his family and rugby environment/situational factor in his childhood and adolescence impacted how he thought about the world and about … Continue reading TURNING POINTS—Family and Rugby Culture Launch an International Life
TURNING POINTS—Even Big Mistakes Can Become Good Turning Points
In this time of national conflict and turmoil, it is worth reminding ourselves of the things that unite us. Some responses to big problems just make sense, regardless of one’s political perspective. Life is messy, and sometimes people make big mistakes—commit crimes and spend time in jail or prison. When that happens in a family, … Continue reading TURNING POINTS—Even Big Mistakes Can Become Good Turning Points
TURNING POINTS—The Long And Winding Road To Maine
When Kathleen and I and our two dogs moved to Maine nine years ago, squeezed into our two-door Civic along with boxes and bags of personal belongings, we came in one fell swoop, hot on the taillights of the moving van that contained the rest of our worldly possessions. One day. But getting the idea … Continue reading TURNING POINTS—The Long And Winding Road To Maine
TURNING POINTS—Autumn Urges For Going And Doing
Many of us associate fall or autumn with changes. Endings and beginnings. It happens around us and in us. Farm fields sprout those large orangey-colored things on which people love to carve scary faces. The green leaves of summer transform into an array of golds, browns, and reds. These colorful reminders of mortality then drop … Continue reading TURNING POINTS—Autumn Urges For Going And Doing
TURNING POINTS—And Open Admissions
Three years ago, Wild River Books launched Open Admissions: What Teaching at Community College Taught Me About Learning at Philadelphia’s historic Mermaid Inn, home to my own Sacred CowBoys and numerous other Philly-based performers. The occasionally raucous event featured a conversation with Community College of Philadelphia Vice President Judith Gay and me about the importance … Continue reading TURNING POINTS—And Open Admissions
TURNING POINTS—What a French Mother of Seven and Cook Has Given the World
Lucie “Lulu” Tempier Peyraud died Wednesday morning, two months before her 103rd birthday. After she married Lucien Peyraud in 1936, her father gave the couple a farm property on which to live. Through decades of hard work there, the couple and their seven children developed a world-class vineyard and successful family business. Lulu cooked for … Continue reading TURNING POINTS—What a French Mother of Seven and Cook Has Given the World
TURNING POINTS—On the Path to a COVID Vaccine and to a Career
The learning process implies change. Once we’ve learned something, we aren’t quite the same person anymore, whether we’ve learned how to solve an equation, play tennis, make a vinaigrette, change a flat tire, or speak a second language. A recent article in the Philadelphia Inquirer tells the story of immigrant Yaya Dia, who now plays … Continue reading TURNING POINTS—On the Path to a COVID Vaccine and to a Career
