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—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
TURNING POINTS—Second Time’s The Charm
Anysaa El Manfaa tried community college immediately after high school, but a year later she was working at a bakery counter fulltime to meet the demands of life. An encounter with a customer became a turning point in her life. Making a sale to the fifty-something man who was in town to deliver a presentation … Continue reading TURNING POINTS—Second Time’s The Charm
TURNING POINTS—Healing Pillars for Programs And for People
My former Community College of Philadelphia colleagues, Pascal Scoles and Francesca DiRosa, explain in “The Healing Pillars of Collegiate Recovery—A Community College Model of Recovery And Education”(to be published in the Journal of Student Affairs Research And Practice), that individuals in recovery need (and services for them should provide) five things: “(1) a sense of … Continue reading TURNING POINTS—Healing Pillars for Programs And for People
TURNING POINTS—Learning And Recovery: The Connections
We’ve all heard expressions like, “You can take the boy out of Philly, but you can’t take the Philly out of the boy.” I think about that in smile-infested mid-coast Maine when I wear the t-shirt my daughter gave me, which reads, “I’m not angry. I’m from Philly.” There’s often truth in such identifications, even … Continue reading TURNING POINTS—Learning And Recovery: The Connections
TURNING POINTS—Favorite Story of the Year Part II
Hazim Hardeman’s story reaches me and teaches me. Here is the second installment in the two-part December series of pieces that Susan Snyder wrote in the Philadelphia Inquirer. http://www.philly.com/education/a/hazim-hardeman-rhodes-scholar-oxford-university-england-temple-20181219.html Bonus link about the young man’s journey from Community College of Philadelphia (pictured here) to Oxford. https://hechingerreport.org/student-voice-he-started-in-community-college-and-now-hes-a-rhodes-scholar/ And here’s the official University of Oxford listing for … Continue reading TURNING POINTS—Favorite Story of the Year Part II
A Very Good Read: Watercolors by Barbara Ernst Prey
My painter friends and acquaintances see differently than I do. There is a lot more behind their eyes: deep and broad knowledge of visual art, as well as personal and cultural history. Looking at the same painting, we see differently. No corrective lens can compensate for what I lack in that regard, but being attuned … Continue reading A Very Good Read: Watercolors by Barbara Ernst Prey
Life in a Jar
Life in a Jar “Sometimes our light goes out, but is blown again into instant flame by an encounter with another human being. Each of us owes the deepest thanks to those who have rekindled this inner light.” Albert Schweitzer. Epigraph for Life in a Jar: The Irena Sendler Project by Jack Mayer Kathleen planted … Continue reading Life in a Jar
Ned Bachus 