Last week, I wrote about the importance of developing and educating forward-thinking young men. The topic made me think about my days as a principal in Topeka, Kansas. I’ll never forget a young boy who was enrolled in my middle school after he had recently moved to the area as a new student. Prior to moving to Topeka, he had grown up on the Potawatomi Indian Reservation approximately twenty miles north of Topeka. He had moved away from the reservation to live with a relative after some family … [Read more...]
Helping Adolescent Boys Avoid Becoming Lost Young Men
Much has been written about the need for new approaches to shaping and defining healthy masculinity in the 21st Century. The current issue of the Atlantic Magazine touches on this topic. It’s called, “The Miseducation of the American Boy.” As a life-long educator, I believe many of the issues raised are relevant to my own experience over decades and are worthwhile for discussion. Years ago, as a young principal at Boswell Junior High School in Topeka, Kansas, I had a ninth-grade male … [Read more...]
“Mentors Matter”: Guidance Through Life’s Most Challenging Moments
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...]
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