Many of my former students attended my retirement party, including a boy named Ryo, whom I taught this year, Ryo came up to me with two six packs of Diet…

My latest humor column in Seasons magazine on The Tyranny of the Ice Cream Truck

A few notes from my recent posts on my retirement party: Three people contacted me to express hope that my former school administration will read and heed some of my…

When George Washington left office after his second term, he delivered a speech filled with advice for the country. During my retirement speech on Saturday night, I did the same.…

Mark Twain famously had the opportunity to watch his own funeral and listen to the kinds of things people say about you after you've died. I don't have any intention…

I am never more impressed with someone than when I hear them say this simple, three-word sentence: "I don't know." It should be an easy thing to say. Three one-syllable…

I often told my students that my superhero name was Nachos Grande — the name of a lunch menu item that our cafeteria serves every other week. Whenever I announced…

As a reluctant atheist, I am constantly examining, studying, and keeping a weather eye on religion in the hope that someday, I will find the faith that brings so many…

For about a month. I have been asked by many, many people what I will be doing once I retire from teaching. The questions and comments have been telling. "So…

For more than a decade, I offered a challenge to my fifth-grade students: Write something that makes me cry. The contest was born from Sharon Creech’s "Love That Dog" —…