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" —…

It's my final day as an elementary school teacher. After 27 years of standing in a classroom teaching second, third, and fifth-grade students, my career is coming to an end.…

Behold: an update on the things that many, if not most, people have done at some point in their lives that I have not. It's a fun list to make,…