After An Educator's Journey

Out of the classroom & into the universe

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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.

  • Agrigento and the Valley of the Temples

    Even in March, before the heat of the summer comes to Sicily, the weather in Agrigento is hot and dry. Already the soil is dry and the sun is unrelenting. But we have come to this UNESCO site on this day to tour the Valle Dei Templi, the Valley of the Temples, and to visit the nearby museum where archaeological artifacts found in this area of Southern Sicily are housed.

    Agrigento, settled around the 5th Century BC, was at one time the third largest Greek settlement after Athens and Syracuse. The Ancient Greeks certainly recognized the importance of the Island of Sicily to expanding their global reach and power, and that influence is strongly felt here in Agrigento. Recognizing that two of the three largest cities in Greek civilization were actually in Sicily was new knowledge for me. In ancient history classes, we learned of the city-states of Ancient Greece and Rome, but somehow the knowledge for most of my education never included the expansion of such civilizations to far away lands like Sicily and the turmoil that marked these power struggles throughout centuries. Wars and conquests exchanged one powerful group with another for centuries in Sicily, which was not something I considered much until this recent visit.

    On this afternoon, we walked through the ridge of temples where one temple ruin follows another. The temples, all influenced by Greek and Magna Graecia architecture, were built to honor gods and goddesses of ancient Greece. Seven temple ruins stand in this park, one of the largest UNESCO sites in Europe: Concordia, Hera (later burned by Carthaginians), Hercules, Zeus, Castor and Pollux, Hephaestus and Asclepius. Built between 510 and 430 BC, in addition to the seven temples, one can walk among the ruins of a necropolis and the walls of the ancient city of Akargas where modern Agrigento now stands.  

    The temples and ruins are imposing; the beauty of their architecture, is still striking despite their condition; that the Temple of Concordia is mostly intact is miraculous. However, my wonderment is tempered by the knowledge that the temples I can visit and admire today were built by enslaved Carthaginians, 30,000 of them, likely the result of the many ancient wars fought between Greeks, Romans, and Carthaginians.

    Walking through the Valley of the Temples, I wonder about those forced to perform the backbreaking manual labor that resulted in the beautiful reminders of ancient civilizations today.

  • When Politics and Travel Intersect: Trapani

    Trapani is a beautiful seaside municipality on Sicily’s western coast. It borders the Tyrrhenian Sea, where the waters are an incredibly beautiful turquoise. On this leg of our tour as we were based in Trapani, we explored the wind-swept island of Mozia and the salt pans of Sicily, and we enjoyed a wonderful cooking demo of traditional foods of the area. 

    While explorations of Trapani and nearby areas were very interesting, the most impressive, thought-provoking experience came from a serendipitous encounter. We happened to be in Trapani when an annual Sicily-wide anti-Mafia rally was scheduled.

    The stereotypical impression of Sicily is that it is overrun by Mafiosi; our culture romanticizes that somewhat. But the truth of Sicily today is more nuanced. The rise in power of the Mafia through Sicily was, of course, due to very many complicated reasons, and those reasons included the area’s pervasive poverty. With the code of silence, the omertà, la cosa nostra flourished, gaining control over the lives of those living on the island. However, in visiting the Sicily of today, that influence seems far less; the stereotype of indiscriminate violence is no longer true. Of course the Mafia has not entirely been wiped from society, but its hold on everyday Sicilian life is very diminished. 

    Historically, following the assassination of two judges, Giuseppe Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, there was a general pushback on Mafia. This was a turning point for the Sicily of today. Through anti-Mafia protests there is a greater inclination to remember the bravery it took to oppose the Mafia through public protests and rallies. This is what I witnessed on a sunny March 21 in Trapani; young people gathering to commemorate Anti-Mafia Day.

    Each March 21, La Giornata della Memoria, or the day of Memory, is marked by rallies and reading of the names of those victimized when the Mafia was being rejected by citizens. On this past March 21st, we happened to be in Trapani preparing for a day trip to Mozia. But because in 2025, Trapani was named the location for school groups around the Island to convene an anti-Mafia rally and parade, we needed to adjust the timing of our journey out of Trapani.

    Even in the short time our paths crossed with the school groups convening in Trapani, we were able to witness pressing crowds of school youth enthusiastically holding anti-Mafia signs and flags, converging on Trapani’s city center. Our group of American tourists, walking in the opposite direction, felt like fish swimming upstream against a tide. While fully comprehending that a tour group from the US would not have been especially welcome to participate, I had a bit of regret that I was not there to witness the rally and the enthusiasm of the participants.  

    Here, back in the US, it sometimes appears to me that we have our very own version of the Mafia installed in Washington. Some segments of our government are inclined to tailor action so as to avoid confrontation with a chief executive who, to me, has the same hold over some as a Mafia Don. In place of performing the work of legislating, the majority in Congress seem willing to abdicate their responsibilities for ensuring that government is funded according to the will of the people and that rules are fair and enforceable according to the Constitution. Our traditional system of checks and balances may have run off the rails.  

    Travel is a political act. And sometimes the politics of travel comes out in subtle ways.

    Perhaps a reckoning is coming. but perhaps it is not. The experience of this traveler in Trapani is that sometimes, when things seem hopeless, the course of history can be changed. When that change happens – if it does – we the people will need our own day of remembrance.

  • Erice: The Formidable Maria Grammatico and the Town of One Hundred Churches

    There are several ways to get to the hilltop town of Erice. One is to take a Funivia or cable from Trapani. Another is to take a white knuckle drive and land at one of the town gates. But the third option – the one that is most enjoyable, is to stop partway to the town of Erice at Maria Grammatico’s Cooking School. We took Option 3.

    Although her obvious sense of humor belies the tough upbringing that was Maria Grammatico’s early life, the cooking class we enjoyed was among my favorite activites in Sicily. At a very young age Maria Grammatico’s mother, widowed with six children, had to arrange for Maria to be taken in at a local convent. It was while at this convent, Maria, working long hours in the bakery, learned the pasticceria skills that would in her mid-20s allow her to start her own shop, a bakery that is still operating today.

    Visiting Maria Grammatico at her cooking school though is a unique blending of experiencing a lunch tasting of local products and a chance to learn to bake from a masterful baker. With a mischievous twinkle, Maria demonstrates Sicilian pastry making, and using her native Sicilian language, she instructs those of us lucky enough to observe her. Our group watched her deftly roll almond dough into tette delle monache, or Nun’s Boobies.

    And because no one eats without putting in the work, we all made our attempts to follow Maria’s lead. When we fell short Maria’s mischievous expression and gestures comically corrected our technique. By the end of our cooking demonstration we had two types of almond pastries and cannoli to sample along with some of Maria Grammatico’s almond and citrus liqueurs. If you are going to indulge, this is the place to do it.

    Learning to make Tette Delle Monache

    Our desire to consume sweets finally satiated, we reboarded our bus and made our way toward the top of Mount Erice for the town of Erice.

    Entering the town through the Trapani Gate, gives the sense that we are observers in another time. Cobbled narrow streets, a steep grade toward the apex of the town, and the stone archways that mark the gates to the town made me feel as if we’d entered a place frozen in the Middle Ages. Maybe we had. One can easily become lost in the labyrinth of narrow streets, alleyways mostly. Defying belief – or maybe sanity – automobiles do drive on these narrow streets and so, we need to be ready to duck into the open doors of artisan workshops and stores to allow them to pass.

    Erice was once known as the town of one hundred churches. While that is a definite exaggeration, the town has more churches than one would expect in such a small area. Currently, there are 11 churches in varied states of reconstruction, restoration and disrepair.

    But there is more evidence of the strong role Catholicism had on the local population. Embedded into the stone walls, arches and even buildings are shrines and likenesses, and other reminders to honor Catholic beliefs.

    As happens in many places, particularly in Europe, the strict practice of Catholicism has waned somewhat. I wonder about the town of Erice, so far up into the hills outside of Trapani that it seems isolated in both geography and time. Does the Church still have the same strong hold here?

    Everywhere we have visited so far, the important role of religion has been in evidence here in Sicily. The evidence is in the Doric columns of ancient Greek or Roman temples, in the Duomos of Palermo and Monreale, and here in the town of a hundred churches, Erice.

  • In Segesta

    As we explored Sicily, the influence of those civilizations invading Sicily could be found everywhere. At the site of the ancient city of Segesta, the dominant evidence is of the ancient Greeks.

    Archaeological Park of Segesta is the site of both an ancient, but unfinished temple, and the site of a “small” Greek theater. The temple, although amazingly intact, was never finished. How do archaeologist know this? The Doric columns are segmented, not fluted to appear as one piece. Finished or not, the columns, massive and the color of sandstone, rise impressively from the base of the unfinished temple and, for me, it was hard to imagine the manual labor that went into raising those columns and the large stones that form both the base and the roofline.

    Visitors reach the temple and the nearby theater by foot, albeit in opposite directions. Because the nearby theater is about a half-mile walk uphill, the Archaeological Park provides mini buses to a drop off close to the top of the theater’s site. In the hot Sicilian sun, a ride uphill seems like a wise choice.

    Walking on the rock strewn paths around the theater brings one face-to-face with structures that were built a thousand or more years ago representative of those who conquered Sicily over the course of its ancient history. Archaeologists are continuing to make findings here. They have discovered the remnants of a Norman church, a mosque, and the walls of Segesta, remnants of different time periods and the different invaders whose influence make Sicily the amalgam it is today.

    The theater has been part of a restoration and is entered from the top of the concentric semi-circle of stone seating, just as would have happened in ancient times. From the top of the theater, one looks down on the stage area and out across the western Sicilian countryside that surrounds what would be ancient Segesta. Acoustically, this theater is a marvel of human engineering. Even at the top of the seating area, we can hear a tour guide standing at the stage area as clearly as if she were directly in front of us.

    The countryside around both the temple and especially the theater is rocky. The pathways that wind through the terrain to the visitors’ center are sunny and treeless. Even in the late Spring, with wildflowers just starting to bloom, it can be quite warm. The walk though, is a magnificent opportunity to walk where ancient peoples also walked and to contemplate their contributions to their world and ours.

  • Discovering Palermo and Monreale

    Palermo overwhelms.

    The traffic on main thoroughfares is a continual cacaphony of vehicles; motorized scooters appear to travel in packs. To be a pedestrian in Palermo takes some serious awareness skills. Don’t assume. Traffic may or may not look upon street-crossing pedestrians as an impediment to their journey. If there are rules or conventions for pedestrians vs scooter, they are not apparent to me.

    Despite the grit and cacaphony that is Palermo, there is so much to take in, to learn from, and to enjoy. A violinist playing before a gathering crowd, mainly tourists of course, fills Quattro Canti, the Four Corners, with sound.

    street violinist performing in front of Quattro Canti Palermo

    Palermo can be found in the lines of those eager to buy a St. Joseph’s Day Zeppoli or Sfinge at I Segreti del Chiostro, in sitting in a bar or cafe and enjoying a cafe, or with local chefs who work magic with seafood.

    Sicilian St. Joseph's Day Pastry

    Palermo is my introduction to Sicily and its culture. The architecture, the knowledge that the age of Palermo’s buildings is measured in centuries and millennia, not in the decades we cite back home, is never lost on me. What inspired people to live and build here? 

    Palermo, Sicily’s capital, is an amalgam of the cultures that conquered it: Phoenician, Carthaginian, Greek, Roman, Arab, and Norman, and finally for nearly 700 years, as part of the Kingdom of Sicily. It was part of the Two Sicilies, at least until Garibaldi came with ideas of unification. All of these earlier cultures have influenced Palermo’s architecture and foods, Palermo is my entry point into Sicily’s history and culture. It is where I start learning about my family.

    On the second day of our tour, our group convened in the lobby our hotel on Via Roma, and after a quick walk to a bus waiting for us near the Central Station, we board for the ride to Monreale.

    Monreale’s centerpiece, the Duomo, sits atop a hill – a stair climb toward the center of the town. The cathedral, started by the last Norman King of Sicily, William II, and it was completed in record time – 15 years.

    The incredible craftsmanship of the mosaics that line the Nave tells stories from the New and Old Testaments. These are what one comes to see. The delicate design and craft of a diverse team of mosaic artists who were Byzantine, Arabic, Latin and French is made all the more incredible in knowing that this group of artists, whether Christian or not, worked in harmony to create one of the world’s most visited churches.

    There is so much to be learned from this part of Sicily and its history. There is the artistic endeavor, of course, but in a world where we no longer seem to be able to agree or disagree with civility, the coming together of such an ethnically diverse group to create Monreale is something for which I have an even greater appreciation.

  • First Step: Get on the Plane

    Since Covid, I have long wanted to get back to travel. In the abstract I embrace it and its uncertainty; in reality, travel and planning intimidates me.

    In 2020, when we were both (nearly) retired, we were anticipating a trip to Ireland, our first overseas adventure since 2015. I have the travel books to prove that intent, but once the pandemic came, and grocery washing became our life, we had to pivot away from getting on a plane and traveling across the ocean, masked or unmasked. Our plans were upended and we hunkered down.

    In between then and now more travel plans were made and then cancelled several times, but this Winter, finally, we made the commitment to visit a part of the world we had not seen before. With ten years in between overseas travel, our biggest hurdle was making a decision about where to visit, and in that regard, Adrien was most supportive in encouraging me to look into Sicily, the birthplace of my paternal grandfather. For that encouragement, I will be forever grateful.

    In the past we have used guidebooks and train websites to plot out our visit. We prefer to use Europe’s wonderful train system, we enjoy stays in more local hotels that have not been “Americanized”, making an attempt to experience European travel with respect for local customs. However, the thought of trying to plan a trip to Sicily on our own was mentally exhausting. Obviously aging and rusty travel skills contributed to that, and so we made the call: we would engage in a tour. While there are many of these with some grand experiences, our experiences planning using his Europe through the Back Door guides as a model for authenticity, led us to the Rick Steves’ Best of Sicily.

    Over the next weeks, I will posts here about this trip. As Rick would say “travel is a political act”. That was certainly true for us – being awakened to new cultures and experiences was an antidote to the isolationism increasingly found here in the US, but this trip was also a journey of self-discovery for me.

    I have been researching my family’s ancestry for nearly 20 years; the opportunity to be where my ancestors were, to experience some of the culture of Sicily, and to realize walking I was walking in the shadow of some of the places those ancestors walked was and is a powerful reminder of who I am.

    Although my paternal grandfather had no desire to return to his birthplace, learning about Sicily and its history, the influence of Sicily’s conquerors, and the amalgam that is its culture, was important. This adventure served to make me even more curious about this branch of my family tree and history.

    Benvenuti all’avventura della vita.

  • Propaganda and Prejudice

    Photo by Anna Nekrashevich on Pexels.com

    I was a high school student in the late 1960s. Education was a lot different back then, though not necessarily the “Leave-it-to-Beaver” high school experiences depicted on television. Starting with my junior year, our English classes switched up a bit from the standard fare English coursework to mini courses. I don’t know who came up with this idea, but it was a brilliant one – teaching students the necessities of high school level English through engaging content that seemed to reflect the time we were living in.

    One of the most impactful mini courses I took was called “Propaganda and Prejudice”. For the record, this was a public high school in New Hampshire, and the usual English skills of reading, writing, and speaking were still taught, just through the lens of examining things like Thomas Paine or even advertising materials. I don’t think my abilities in English suffered from the shift in focus.

    The lessons of examination, consideration, and verification were not lost on me. In fact, if I had to point to something I learned in high school that has stayed with me for more than 50 years, the lessons learned in this mini course would be at the top. This week, after reading how polls show the current occupant of the White House is more popular than ever, I needed a moment of reflection on exactly what I was looking at.

    My first inclination when reading about polls and how the data is analyzed is to wonder who actually participates. Quinnipiac University is a highly regarded poll after all. Who – and how many participants – are part of this survey?

    From this quotation on the Quinnipiac Poll website, I got part of the answer:

    The Quinnipiac University Poll uses what has long been considered the gold standard methodology in polling: random digit dialing using live interviewers, calling both landlines and cell phones. This methodology has been the key to our accuracy over our many years of polling.

    When a pollsters’ reliance is on cellphones and landlines, I need to question the reliability of the data. A telephone poll, even one using what appears to be randomized information fitting a particular criteria, would seem to be skewed. Who answers random calls from unidentified callers? I’m a Boomer; I do not. Most people younger than me do not answer random unknown calls either.

    Data collection and polling are complicated processes in the information age. With spoofed numbers, scam calls, unless I recognize the phone number or the person calling me, I’m not apt to pick up. So are large number of “potential voters” being left out of the data? Would those who are not being queried drive the data in another direction?

    The questioning of information taught to me by Mr. Temple and Ms. Podulke way back in high school are, in my opinion, essentials. Who is answering the questions is just as important as what the answer might be. Full stop. 

    When the headline writers and news analysts tell me Mr. Trump is more popular now than on Election Day last November, I am skeptical. Dig a little deeper. Maybe the full picture is not being represented.

    Examine. Consider. Verify. Or at least point out where data collection might be impacting the analysis.

  • Moving Forward

    This week I happened on a NYTime story about an amateur photographer in Paris. Raoul Minot, was an employee of Le Printemps in Paris, and an amateur whose resistance to Nazi Occupation of France took the form of documenting 1940s Paris. M. Minot made thousands of photographs, often adding commentary or explanation, knowing that making photographs of life in Paris was, per the Occupation, forbidden. Because he realized the dangerousness of such an activity – his Brownie camera was often hidden in his coat – he himself remained a mystery, developing film, secretively, in the darkroom of the department store where he worked and passing prints to friends and colleagues in secret. He was anonymous until recently.

    Eventually, Minot was reported, and deported to a Buchenwald Concentration Camp. He died as a result of his treatment in that Camp, shortly after being liberated by American troops.

    Resistance, such as that told through the story of M. Minot and his photography, is at once heroic and inspiring. But for most of us, the act of resisting will not be recorded in history books.

    The election is done, and peaceful citizens abide by that. I disagree with the results, and feel dread and anxiety about what is ahead. Harm will be caused to people I know and love. That is unmistakable.

    So I must be a resistor too. If I am to be true to my beliefs and accountable to myself, when asked what I did during this time of upheaval, how will I answer?

    I think of this powerful quote as I write:

    Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do. – John Wooden

    The power center of our country has changed. But I have not. So with John Wooden’s quote in mind, this is where I start. 

  • In the Aftermath, What Comes Next?

    I was and I am devastated by the results of yesterday’s election. It appears that a person who to me represents all that we, as humans, should avoid is the selection to lead the United States. In case you missed it, I am including this clip from Jon Stewart. I think there is a lot of truth there: pundits and opinion-writers will analyze what happened, and maybe there is some insight there. Mostly there is not.

    For to me, this election came down to the unfairness of some of our votes counting more than others. Also, the embedded racism, misogyny, and fear of “otherness” is apparently insurmountable. A mixed race woman was sadly no match for celebrity and outrage.

    For the past 12 hours, I’ve wondered what will *I* do to make the world a better place?

    Clearly my voting opinion was not of the majority. I believe this election will ultimately decide whether we keep the United States as a Republic or not but my opinion does not matter. The votes have been counted, the final tally is being posted, and time moves forward whether or not I agree with the direction things seem to be headed. As we used to tell third graders, “you win or lose by how you choose.” I am praying that the choice just made does not cause all of us to lose.

    So back to the question: What will I do to make the world a better place?

    A career educator, teaching has always been my passion. The tricky part for me has always been how to best use my knowledge and skill after leaving the elementary classroom. I am not egotistical enough to think what I did 20-plus years ago works in public education today. But recently I came across some astounding information: there is a waitlist for literacy volunteer tutors to work with ESOL students. How could I continue to sit this out?

    So I recently completed training that will enable me to become a literacy volunteer for adults seeking to learn and better their ability to communicate in English. and I hope that I can help someone who is struggling to learn our English language to do so successfully. This is one way I – and you because there are many learners waiting for help – can chip away at the negatives that I fear will follow this election.

    And we have to fight and we have to continue to work day in and day out to create a better society.

    Jon Stewart, The Daily Show, 05 November 2024

    This is where I will start. I, too, will regroup and find opportunities to support those who need help, stick up for those who are denigrated, show empathy and find ways to become a better human. What will you do?

    If you are interested in becoming a literacy volunteer, you do not need to be a teacher. Link here to learn more about Literacy Volunteers of Massachusetts.

  • Vote Like Your Great Grandmother Was a Suffragette

    Spoiler alert: she was.

    This is my maternal Great Grandmother, Minnie Palmer Flournoy who died about a decade before I was born. I know of her from the stories told by my maternal grandfather, her son, and my mother, her granddaughter.

    Born around 1859 or 1860 to Missouri pioneer parents (Minnie later listed her birth year as 1867), Minnie Palmer married in the 1880s. Her husband, my great-grandfather Richard Flournoy, was tragically killed in a railroad accident when my grandfather was about a year old. As a woman, the railroad was less responsive to the needs of a young widow; Minnie had to get an attorney before the railroad offered any settlement for her loss.

    And so, with little means of support, Minnie returned from Albany, New York, where she had been living to Missouri. She worked with her father in the family’s hotel in Stansbery, Missouri, and eventually managed a Boarding House in St. Joseph, Missouri, while also working as a seamstress. A strong and resourceful woman in the early years of the 20th Century, Minnie would have been stymied by opportunities available to females.

    It was unsurprising to learn Minnie Palmer Flournoy marched with suffragettes in Missouri before the 19th Amendment was ratified.

    Whenever I head off to vote, I think of women from Minnie Flournoy’s generation who had the courage of their convictions to be vociferous in supporting a woman’s right to vote. History tells us this was not an easy battle, and oftentimes supporters were met with derision and violence. So, as a descendant of a woman who felt it important to ensure women’s voting rights, it is hard to imagine sitting out this election. Or any election, honestly.

    My Mom, Minnie Flournoy’s only grandchild, also voted this year. Mom is 101. She needed to arrange for an absentee ballot, called her Town Clerk, and had that ballot mailed to her at her temporary residence. This would be an incredible 80th opportunity to vote, and the 20th time she voted for President.

    So yesterday I voted early to ensure that nothing would prevent me from casting my ballot. I honor my great grandmother’s courage in advocating for my own voting rights by getting off my butt and voting. No excuses. It has been this way for as long as I’ve been able to vote. I read, I listen, I make a decision. Rain or shine, easy or hard, I vote.

    But I also thought of my granddaughter and what kind of world she might look forward to should the former president be elected to a second term.

    For me, the choice this election was an easy one. The former president and his anointed vice president have made clear what they plan for our country should their campaign be successful. The vengeance in their rhetoric, the lies, the hate, the manipulation. This election should be a slam-dunk. Instead, it’s a head scratching virtual tie. Have we all gone mad?

    I hope the fever dream that has pitted a wannabe celebrity against a highly educated and thoughtful candidate breaks on November 6th with the election of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. To do that, every Democrat will need to get to the polls. It should not matter if voting is convenient or not. Stand in line, and if it is long, wait. Be sure to get to your polling place in time to vote and know the rules for that. Participate in Early Voting if that’s an option, mail in your absentee ballot so that it reaches your local election office by the deadline. If you are confronted with a voter registration issue, demand a provisional ballot. That is your right.

    It is my fervent wish and greatest hope that the dreams of my great grandmother, who had the conviction to be part of the suffragettes, reach full circle and that I can at last address the President of the United States as “Madam President”.