In my upcoming book, Your Turn: Ways to Celebrate Life Through Storytelling, I write about the privilege of being mentored by adults who guided me through adverse life moments when I was a youngster, teenager and later as an adult. Because I am lucky to have benefited from the sage counsel of others, I have made it one of my life’s missions to give back to others in my professional role as a teacher, school principal, and superintendent. Throughout my career in public education, I was often … [Read more...]
Bridging Cultures: My Trip to China and the Most Memorable Painting
In our current state of affairs, the United States and China are going through tremendous political differences. Leaders of both nations are clashing amid a trade war that has had long-term consequences for both countries. Considering the ongoing political divisions between China and the U.S., I have been thinking a great deal about my trip to China 20 years ago. The trip exposed me to China’s complex cultural histories, their giving people and inspirational stories. On my visit to both … [Read more...]
A Rising Generation is Making its Voice Heard
There’s an old saying, “history doesn’t repeat itself; it rhymes.” I thought of this recently during a week punctuated by the anniversary of the Parkland shootings, pushback over the New Green Deal proposal and the ongoing debate about “The Wall.” Clearly a new generation rising is “woke” to America’s failure to embrace the principles of social justice, racial, gender and economic equality that we all fought to achieve more than half a century ago. The sad truth is that people of color, … [Read more...]
Stigma Impacts Mental Health Treatment for Children
A stigma often surrounds those children who suffer silently from depression and mental illness. Having been prescribed medication to treat the symptoms, children are sometimes signaled out, particularly at school, as school staff have one additional need to contend with. As a former administrator, I understand the time and effort it takes to make sure these children are properly attended to. And, having suffered from depression and mental illness myself, I know what it feels like to be on the … [Read more...]
The Times They Are A-Changin’: How Music Inspires the Courage and Hope of a Rising Generation
Each generation comes to reject, in one form or another, the conventional rules for getting along in the world as defined by their forebears. America last experienced this rejection in the 1960s. Having lived during that time, I can tell you the process is profoundly unsettling, scary, invigorating and yet cleansing. Sometimes the upheaval is so powerful that it unleashes a torrent of new ideas that engulf an entire society, a deluge that creates swirling eddies and cuts new channels into our … [Read more...]
