Archive for March 2020
This is what a book should look like
In case you weren’t sure, authors actually love it when you deface their books like this reader has done to mine. Unless you’ve borrowed the book from a library or a friend, the book is yours. Do with as you please! Maybe not burn it, but even then, if an author has enraged you to…
Read MoreThe world looks very different atop a bike
About a month ago, I stopped going to the gym. Even before the gym was closed because of the pandemic, Elysha asked me to stop going, and I knew she was right. I thought this would mean that I’d need to begin running again, which is not something I enjoy doing. My knee eventually starts…
Read MoreHow “The Goonies” altered my view on life forever
If you’re old enough, you remember the video stories of more than a decade ago. Many of us spent hours inside those stores, staring first at VHS boxes and then the DVD cases that lined the walls, looking for a film to brighten our television screens for a couple hours, and perhaps our lives, too.…
Read MoreThe Four Best Gifts
I celebrated my birthday last month. It feels like one thousand years ago given the current state of the world. I can be a difficult person when it comes to presents. I am much more interested in eliminating things from my life than adding to it. The accumulation of stuff does not interest me. In…
Read MoreSpeak Up Storytelling: Tom Moore
On episode #91 of the Speak Up Storytelling podcast, Elysha and I talk storytelling! In our follow up segment, we congratulate listeners on their new baby! We also launch our Patreon campaign, announce an upcoming virtual storytelling workshop and solo show, and a weekly free storytelling workshop for kids on Facebook Live and YouTube. STORYTELLING…
Read MoreLet us never forget how we arrived at this moment
One month ago today, against the advice and counsel of scientists, doctors, and public policy experts, Trump said, “When you have 15 people, and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero, that’s a pretty good job we’ve done.” As of this morning, the United States has…
Read MoreThe Office brings me light on dark days
I’m a very fortunate person. I’m married to a clever, funny, beautiful woman. We have two uncharacteristically well-behaved children. I have a remarkable group of friends. I’ve been teaching elementary school for 21 years in the same great school, and in the same classroom for almost all of that time. I’ve also been fortunate enough…
Read MoreProud to be a teacher everyday, but in this time, especially
I am so impressed with my colleagues today. The teachers, principals, and superintendents who have worked at a record pace to develop and deliver curriculum and instruction to children across America. For every second of our careers, we have delivered curriculum and instruction to children in a classroom, using skills and pedagogy honed through years…
Read MoreYou exist because of 15 cents
Charlie was counting coins yesterday as part of a his math lesson. I was helping out a little. Nickels and quarters can look alike to a little boy. As he worked through the various combinations, he landed upon 15 cents. “Look, Dad. Two ways to make 15 cents.” He was right. Two ways to make…
Read MoreI’m not William Shakespeare or Issac Newton, but I still managed to discover something important
Over the last week, no fewer than two dozen friends, readers, and followers have sent me messages letting me know that when Shakespeare was quarantined because of the plague, he wrote King Lear and possibly Macbeth and Antony and Cleopatra. A handful of friends and readers have also told me that when Issac Newton was…
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