TDT [Noun] Acronym for To-Do-Trauma. Condition resulting in loss of sleep, sanity and perspective, often the result of stress inflicted by an over-full and over-long list of items to accomplish within a finite timeframe. When a bunch of students came over the other day and installed themselves in my living room, I wasn’t expecting the […]
[You’ll find my “If These Walls Could Speak” video at the end of this post.] The trip that took me to Normandy over Spring Break (see previous post) also took me back to the small French town where I grew up. Its name is Lamorlaye (Lah-more-leh). As I wrote in the postscript of my last […]
[Extra Normandy photos at the bottom of this post.] April 11, 2010. I wasn’t prepared for the sea of white crosses that spread across the horizon when I turned away from the desolate beauty of Normandy’s Omaha Beach and faced the American Cemetery where 9,387 white crosses and stars of David marked the graves of […]
This past week, BFA hosted the International Christian Educator Conference, an occasion for which 300 delegates descended on Kandern from all over the world. In anticipation of the large number of MK-teachers involved, I decided to revamp the video I made last year, a collage of photos and self-descriptions that allows MKs to define themselves […]
Meet Bob. He’s the father of BFA-teacher Mike Hill. This week, he celebrated his 48th wedding anniversary, and he marked the occasion with a romantic élan that would make a Tramp (ie. “Lady and the…”) proud. He bought a helium-filled balloon and attached a note to the end of its ribbon, inviting anyone who found […]
Under the best of conditions, it’s a recipe for chaos: load 300 teenagers into five buses and a couple of vans, then head off to the mountains for three days of skiing, snowboarding, worshiping and learning. Every year, I ask myself if I have the courage to face the weekend “retreat” of perpetual loudness, busyness […]
(Skip to the bottom for the latest installment in my George Clooney Photoshop collection!) I know some teachers who tend to speak in laudatory terms only of former students–those who have gone on to achieve greatness or renown. I too have found satisfaction and pride in seeing my former singers and actors carve out a […]
I’ve GOT to start getting more sleep. Which means that the Olympic Games have GOT to end! You see, with the time zone difference between Vancouver and Kandern, all the best events tend to start around midnight, my time, and both my sleep patterns and my ability to focus during daylight hours are suffering. Let […]
Sometimes, I just need to gaze on innocence. (I’ve been doing a lot of that lately.) And sometimes I have strong urges to punish the guilty. It’s the vindicator in me—the exactor of justice. I think it may be a force most powerful in those of us who were harmed at an age when we […]
One of the most enjoyable aspects of being a Creative Writing teacher is that I get to read journals. There aren’t many guidelines as to what or how the students are supposed to write. No restrictions on length or content. No stylistic judgment. Just a minimum of two entries per week and their teacher’s disappointment […]