The Body – Bill Bryson
What a fascinating book… offering all sorts of insight into what is known and unknown about the human body. In addition to lots of somewhat technical, scientific, and medical information about different parts of the body, Bryson also shares several engaging and funny stories. My favorite was about an emergency appendectomy on a US submarine…
Thank you, Del Oro… and Goodbye for now
I met Morgan (now my wife of almost 18 years) at Cal Poly. She had just graduated high school and as we were getting to know each other, she would often tell these fond stories of what seemed to me like a mythical place. She claimed to have gone to a high school where students…
An Invitation for Outsiders & Insiders
Many people have pointed out that one way of looking at the prophet Jonah is as a classic nationalist. You could say he believes in Israel. Israel should be first. He is with the chosen children of God, not the gentiles, and definitely not the Ninevites. Now, his nationalism… maybe it’s the subtle kind. He’s…
Attempted Escape
Yesterday was the first of my two-part sermon series on the Book of Jonah. This is a story about Jonah, and it’s a story about Israel, and it’s a story about me. And one thing that’s true for all of us, is that the call of God is often clear. It’s often as clear as…
Initiative Fatigue
“Really?!? Another thing? We are barely started with the last thing and the thing before that. I can’t even remember the main focus of the thing from last month. Is this one going to stick or is it going to be soon forgotten like last year’s thing? How can we have 50 things that we…
In case of emergency
I reviewed a few different emergency scenarios this week and talked with a group of educators about what we should do in different situations. One of the scenarios dealt with a shooting and the other with a student leaving campus during the school day and dying in a car accident. These are horrific situations. Here’s…
Confidentiality
I talked with a group of teachers about two tough confidentiality issues this week. One involved a teacher who shared a story with her neighbor about a rough student. She included names and identifying details. The neighbor then shared the story on Facebook. It quickly turned into quite a disaster. The other issue involved an…
Relationships Matter
As part of the administrative credential program that I have been working my way through for several months, we’ve had the opportunity to read several case studies and scenarios dealing with students, staff, and parents. What’s interesting about these scenarios is the massive range of situations that you could potentially find yourself in as a…
California Ed Code 48907
I know. It’s a catchy title for a blog post. California Educational Code 48907 has to do with students’ freedom of speech rights. Here’s an excerpt: “Pupils of the public schools, including charter schools, shall have the right to exercise freedom of speech and of the press including, but not limited to, the use of…
Racial Bias in Parent Communication
Several months ago I completed a quick online test from Project Implicit that was designed to measure implicit stereotyping and biases. The process was really thought-provoking and it led to several good conversations with colleagues about how we interact with students. One thing that I hadn’t considered at the time was how dramatically an educator’s…
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Mr. Zerwas Teaches Here 