Category: Education
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Six Things K-12 Education is Keeping From You and Your Student
Twenty-five years after 9/11 and retired from the classroom, I’m still incredulous that we powered through a state testing session before telling our students about the attack. Today, I‘m thinking about what else educators kept from kids during my own twenty-five years in the classroom… and what was kept from their parents. 1.) Your “permanent…
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Five Things I’ll Never Miss About the First Days of the New School Year
The moments raced, but the week went on and on: An odd paradox for the week that school resumed each year. Every afternoon, I dragged myself home and let Jerry tell me what was for supper and when. I was too exhausted from leaving a summer of haphazard fun and lack of responsibilities to the rigid…
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The First Week of School: What A Retired Teacher Still Misses
As a recently retired secondary English teacher, I still get a little nostalgic for the first days of school. After getting my classroom ready and after a restless pre-first-day night, the excitement of getting acquainted with a new cohort of students propelled me through the first exhausting week of school. I miss several parts of those…
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Reconstruction Diary Meditations: Quakers and the Painful Legacy of Indian Boarding Schools
Sunday, August 5, 1866 Milton, Lizzie and I went to Sabbath school at Elmgrove [and] stayed at meeting which was not very large. A meeting was given out for Jessie Williams to be held at 4 o’clock. Josiah White and Lizzie with their two little girls came home with us for dinner. Cyrena Gard was…
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Five Things This Retired Teacher Still Loves About Back-to-School Season
Any day now, it’ll be back to the classroom for several of my teacher friends. But not for me! I’ve been retired for a few years now. Even though I don’t miss teaching in a secondary English classroom, five things about this time of year still warm my heart: 1.) Catching a really good sale…
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Living Up to a Surprising Family Legacy
I have an impressive role model. Seven years ago today, I spent the day in New Castle, Indiana, paging through musty books, peering at microfilm newspaper articles, and digging through gigantic, bound court record books. My son Ted Shideler and I were just starting my second Lilly Teacher Creativity Fellowship Award project. For the past…
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Stepping Back Into My Superhero Shoes
Last week I needed my superhero shoes. What began as knee pain recently resulted in a nine-day hospital stay for my mom. It was a surprise: At 90, she’s still mobile, interested in our activities, and busy with her own. At least, she was. On Monday, after my piano lesson, she told me that she…
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Taking a Risk – Putting Faith into Action
How often do we see faith in action like this today? “Sunday, March 25, 1866 Another Sabbath has passed away…This afternoon [I] attended [the] Baptist meeting, but it proved to be mostly a business meeting. They are raising money to buy a lot and build a church as they will most likely be deprived of…
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The Biggest Mistake Historical Fiction Writers Make – And How to Avoid It
Writing historical fiction is the dream of so many aspiring authors – but it requires real research! Back when my high school juniors were writing stories related to the American Civil War, it was the little details that tripped them up. One student wrote about a doctor reaching into the medicine cabinet and pulling out…
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Staff by Staff: How Piano Lessons Taught Me to Tackle Life’s Challenges One Measure at a Time
I should’ve known I could do it. I’ve seen others do it. One of my kids played the drum set for years, and seeing him perform in a couple of bands proved to me that it’s possible. But I didn’t think I could. No, the chances that I could make my hands do two different…
