“In our youth our hearts were touched with fire” (Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.) What are you passionate about?  That’s the key to the “passion quilt meme.”   The idea is to pick a photo from Flickr (or take a photo) that reflects what you feel passionately about regarding your students. At a recent Austin citywide art event, First Night, attendees were given chalk to decorate the First Street bridge.  While walking across it, I ran across this image, sketched in chalk there.   It captured me because […]

    ”My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?” ~ Bob Hope We’ve decided to give our own children a gift for others this year.  How about a flock of ducks, a child’s health, a tree to prevent erosion,  a shelter for a child, or a child’s first book? A few places to consider giving a gift of love: Heifer Project Mercy Corps The GreenBelt […]

   Today some students on our campus are observing the National Day of Silence in support of our student Gay-Straight Alliance.  What can we as educators do?   Check here for a list of ideas on ways to support students.

As I watch the news about Virginia Tech tonight, I can’t help but think of a memorial I read about Kurt Vonnegut in the New York Times. “To Mr. Vonnegut, the only possible redemption for the madness and apparent meaninglessness of existence was human kindness. The title character in his 1965 novel, “God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, or Pearls Before Swine,” summed up his philosophy: ‘Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It’s hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It’s round and wet and […]

I’ve been “tagged!”  If you aren’t familiar with this, it’s a blog game where a theme or question circulates, and people tag other people to respond to the theme or question. Scott Schwister of Higher Edison tagged me(which I have to say made me feel really honored because I think he’s a very interesting writer). Now I’m supposed to share five to ten “simply successful secrets”  and then tag a few more people to share theirs.  Here’s the full description: “List the top 5 to 10 things that you […]

Want to be a celebrity?  Put yourself on the cover of Wired magazine!

 It’s really spring here.  After a year or two of drought, we’ve had a lot of rain and now we have sunshine and bluebonnets blooming everywhere.   It feels so refreshing.  I was starting to feel like I was dried up and crispy myself, and now everything feels lush and fruitful.     Even though Earth Day is 22 days away, in honor of this lovely spring afternoon, here’s a link to WWF’s Time For Change website, where people (including many teenagers) from around the world are sharing their ideas for […]

Ok, this is what I feel like after the first week back from spring break.  Anyone else?