I’ve had the distinct honor and pleasure of teaching next door to Mr. Richard Baker, Rick to some, but Mr. Baker to most, for the last 15 years of his 38 years as a math educator here at Lin-Wood Public School. I’ve heard the clickety clack of his chalk on his chalkboard as he is… Continue reading The Man, the Myth, the Math Legend: Richard Baker Retires This Spring
This morning, in front of my first period English class, one of my female students innocently asks if I was wearing a new shirt. “Sure am,” and I’m thinking she will tell me she likes it. And she does tell me, but not immediately. Instead she casually points out, “You still have the M sticker… Continue reading Dearest March: Please Send April
The snow fell steadily. Plows made loud noises around us. Yet, amid the noise, amid the shuffle of life, 70-something middle and high school students standing in a circle held 7 minutes of silence and then shared bios of the people who were lost in Parkland, Florida during a school shooting. This was a non-sanctioned,… Continue reading Why We Walked Out Today…
Today is International Women’s Day 2018, and I felt compelled to write something. Anything. However, nothing inspired me because, since Parkland happened, my brain has been cycling in this school safety- gun violence- rut. I couldn’t think of a specific person or angle or clever hook that would suck in my audience with a positive… Continue reading Channeling Mother Teresa for Character and Barbara Washburn for Adventure on This International Women’s Day 2018
Dear President Trump, If I wanted to carry a gun, pistol, rifle, firearm of any kind, I would have joined a different profession. I would have pursued a military career or that of a policeman, security guard, or secret service agent. I could have been many things, but I chose to be a teacher. The… Continue reading President Trump: This is What I Will be Armed With in my Classroom
Our new puppy, a 14 year old in human years actually, is home for good now that service dog training with Geoff down at NEADS in Princeton, MA is over. Last weekend was a tease; he came home on a 48 hour furlough and then had to leave again. But he is here– or wherever… Continue reading Puppy Love
Dear Emerson Gronk Snowy Krill, Given your world class service dog status, I’m sure you also read, but if not, I’ll explain when you arrive. Your new dad, my husband Geoff, is on his way today to begin training with you as a pair at NEADS in Princeton, MA. He is really excited for you… Continue reading Dear Emerson Gronk Snowy Krill,
Since I started writing a blog a little over two years ago, this is the longest amount of time I’ve gone without publishing. It’s not that I didn’t have ideas I wanted to write down; I did, but they felt mundane and unlikely to attract many readers. Then I got a cold and blew… Continue reading Understanding Choice, Risk, and Courage: Especially in Honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
I’ve never dragged a human body into the woods, but I can imagine the work involved. After all, each year I dissemble the Christmas tree, and we say a little prayer of thanks over his branches before returning him to the woods where he came from. This year, however, I had to drag him… Continue reading Christmas Carcass
Dear Mrs. Claus, When I was a little girl, I would stay awake in my Holly Hobby bed for as long as I could on Christmas Eve imagining, picturing, willing my ears to hear Santa’s sleigh bells on the roof of my little house. Back then, it was Santa I needed to believe in–… Continue reading It’s You, Mrs. Claus, We Need to Believe In Too
Heather Ehrman Krill: The "Write" Kind of Coach 