September 7 , 2018 /

GOING OFF THE RAILS

There has been a lot said recently about someone going off the rails.  We know generally what that means in terms of losing direction, being disabled from further progress.  What happens when we’re the ones who have either lost traction or direction or even purpose?  What then? Most of us have had some kind of

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September 1 , 2018 /

TRANSCENDING DIFFERENCES

Disagreements and differences of opinions separate people, communities and countries and there are those whose efforts are designed to pit people against each other through partisanship and intolerance. There are also those whose efforts are designed to build bridges of understanding, create communities of compassion and work toward bringing people together around a common vision,

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August 19 , 2018 /

A BETTER MOUSETRAP

The phrase “build a better mousetrap” turned into a metaphor about the power of innovation and is frequently taken literally, with more than 4,400 patents issued by the US Patent and Trademark Office for new mousetraps, with thousands more unsuccessful applicants, making them the “most frequently invented device in U.S. history.” Five “better mousetrap” books

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August 7 , 2018 /

AN OPENING IN THE CLOUDS

Very early one morning when I woke up, I looked out the window (at 3 AM) and there was a strange narrow band of light above the mountain, Sierra Negra, which was across the river from where I lived. I wondered what it was, why it was there, what conditions caused it to be and

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August 1 , 2018 /

THE FOUR-LEGGED STOOL

Most teachers, many parents and some students are aware of the three-legged stool concept and practice in schools.  The three legs are teacher, parents & student.  The teacher represents the school, the parents represent themselves and their child and the student can hopefully represent himself or herself to the extent possible.  Too much practice in

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July 29 , 2018 /

REFLECTIONS

EXCERPTS from Chapter Seven in “SEVEN DECADES: A LEARNING MEMOIR”. (River House Press. 2013) LINK: www.tinyurl.com/nxlvqjn “When people in the next decade are trying to convey a picture of the most recent decade, they will use a self-portrait shot from a digital camera or cell phone held by one hand extended away from the subject. 

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