In elementary school, one of the classroom chores was cleaning the chalkboard erasers. More appropriately, beating the chalk out of the erasers. Usually at the last recess of the day, one or two people were assigned to take the erasers outside and beat them together to remove the chalk dust. We had two types of […]
I called my son yesterday. His wife is still working outside the home and he’s trying to figure out how to work from home, while homeschooling a daughter and trying to keep his son from tearing pictures off the wall. What I really heard was an overwhelming tiredness. I’m hearing and sensing the same thing […]
I was an elementary school principal in a lower income school. When winter time rolled around, we were always aware and concerned about kids that came under-dressed. Many students came without gloves and hats, but an amazing number of kids came without winter coats or coats heavy enough to keep the cold away. One particularly […]
My first teaching job was in a small, rural school district. In addition to my elementary teaching assignment, they wanted to know if I’d be the varsity wrestling coach. Umm, sure, I wrestled in 6th grade. Actually took fourth at regions. Never mind that there were four in my weight class and I got pinned […]
Recently, we dedicated a school on the island of LaGonave, Haiti. It is named the Rob Marchand Education Center (RMEC), after my best friend who died of cancer four years ago. His wife and kids, along with my wife and a friend were able to attend the dedication, distribute RMEC backpacks and RMEC t-shirts. We […]
One of the things I love about Haiti is their proverbs. They have many: A leaky house can fool the sun, but it can’t fool the rain. If work were a good thing, the rich would have grabbed it a long time ago. People talk and don’t act. God acts and doesn’t talk. A little […]
Our team just returned from a trip to Haiti. In addition to being a fun group, we actually got some work accomplished. The main purpose was to begin the building of a school. We dedicated the Rob Marchand Education Center, in honor of my good friend who passed away a couple years ago. It is […]
My son’s neighborhood had a gathering of all the children to meet with Santa. Our son told our granddaughter that she needed to tell Santa that she’d been naughty but that she’d be nice from now until Christmas. Thought this was an interesting statement from the kid who didn’t sleep an entire night until he […]
There are names for many things and places. And I’m sure there’s a story behind the name of that park or school or monument or street. But we become numb to names and they often go virtually unnoticed. Inside of a building may hold the names of benefactors or public officials that assisted in its […]
Among my darkest days as a middle school and elementary principal was when we went through a string of bomb scares. What I remember most is the look of fear in the faces of our students as we tried to comfort them and get them to a safe location while law enforcement searched our building. […]