After An Educator's Journey

Out of the classroom & into the universe

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about

Once upon a time, I taught 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders. Now I’m retired and working on new ventures.
I taught second, third and fourth graders. Teaching was my passion and joy for 30 years. And it didn’t hurt that they called me “mom” sometimes.

Category: Braindroppings

  • Am I Better Off?

    If you listen to the pundits, the coming presidential election is boiled down to a single question: Am I better off today than I was 4 years ago? I think it’s more complicated than a “yes” or “no”. Certainly my family’s monetary worth is not better, however, I do not blame presidential policy for this.…

  • And so it goes…..

    In the first few paragraphs of her commentary, Joanna Weiss made me laugh right out loud.  In the “old days”, 32 years ago for example, we used to take snapshots of our kids and then make multiple prints to send out to all of our interested or not so interested family and friends.  I know…

  • August

    Some people watch for the Back-to-School advertisements to gauge how near we are to the end of summer break. I use crickets. When I can hear the crickets, I know it’s time to give some extra attention to planning for the Fall.  It’s a bittersweet sound for me; the mornings where I can linger over…

  • Thank You SCOTUS

    Thank goodness I reside in a state where it has been illegal to deny health care coverage for pre-existing conditions for some time (should I say “thanks” to Governor Romney?).  As of a few hours ago, the Supreme Court ruled that insurers cannot discriminate for pre-exisitng conditions nation-wide. For someone like me, that is truly…

  • Is This The New “Common”wealth?

    The talking head on our local news broadcast announced it as if it were just an everyday thing – no big deal. I however, nearly fell out of my chair. Apparently the City of Boston is considering – seriously – opening a portion of the Copley Branch for retail.  Don’t believe it? Neither could I,…

  • Advice from the Peanut Gallery

    Here’s some advice from my experienced third graders to my incoming students: Rase (sic) your hand because you are being rude if you are talking and it’s someone else’s turn. Raise your hand because there is no blurting 207. Pay attention because you might know what to do. Follow directions so you get smarter. Be persistent…

  • Connections

    Today would have been my paternal grandmother’s 129th birthday; she was born in High Falls, New York on May 31, 1883.  I do not know much about my grandmother; she died in 1927 when my father was just 9 years old. Yet I sometimes feel a connection. In addition to carrying my grandmother’s name, Elizabeth,…

  • Dear Mitt…

    As a citizen of the fair Commonwealth of Massachusetts for quite a number of years – nearly 35 at this point – I feel uniquely qualified to respond to Mitt Romney’s latest education campaign speech. You see, as a public school teacher in a small urban Massachusetts school district, I wonder how Mitt can call…

  • Dear Ms. Rhee….

    It could be that it’s the “vacation” head cold talking, but I don’t think so.  I was working in my classroom this morning, when I opened up my school email account.  And here, for the third time in  the last couple of months, is – unedited – what I found: ________________________________________ From: Michelle Rhee, StudentsFirst…

  • A Life on the “Outside”

    Often I excuse my compulsive need to read and research all things educational with “I don’t have a life.” It is true that my child has long grown past needing me as a parent – I no longer do homework or nag to complete projects or carpool to sports. So I don’t have obligations or…