When my dad was in the hospital, I had an opportunity to observe the different styles of doctors. They ran all the way from aloof and distant to intimate and caring. Now I can’t imagine what it does to a person’s psyche to watch people die as part of your job; to literally pronounce their…
In one of the recent debates for the republican nomination, Brian Williams prefaced his question to Governor Rick Perry about the death penalty by saying that his state had executed over 234 prison inmates, more than any other Governor in modern times. What was shocking was not the Governor’s claim that the he was unbothered…
Earlier this year, as I said goodbye to my brother and his family at Schiphol airport there was that old familiar pain of saying goodbyes to loved ones; that pang of sadness. In the past it was usually at saying goodbye to my parents and it got worse as they got older; so bad in…
A few days ago I listened to Doug Stevenson—teacher of the Story Theater Method—share how he improved his relationship with his young step-son. Doug related how hard he was trying to communicate with his teenage stepson and that nothing seemed to work. His communications were being ignored, or mis-understood and he was getting nowhere fast….
One of the most fundamental human needs is to be heard; to have the feeling that the person looking right at us is also getting what we’re saying. That s/he is really listening to us. Buy why is that experience so rare? Look at talk shows, the American Congress, or just witness people in social…
As a child I liked many of my teachers. There were those that were funny, autocratic, confused, empathetic etc. I remember them primarily for the funny stories that happened in their classrooms, and whether or not we thought they were cool. As I think back on them I realize that every one of them was…
If you have kids, one easy way to prepare them for life is to always ask one simple question: What have you learned? Learning isn’t limited to classrooms. If we’re open to learning, we have opportunities to learn all around us, but our kids have to be taught to look for learning everywhere. They won’t…