
Monday, September 6, 2021
Annual Wright-Hansen Birthday Dinner

Saturday, September 4, 2021
Phony Baloney
I'm an old campaigner. With each passing year, my phoniness-detector strengthens. I find myself looking at actions, and noticing when they don't match up to spoken words. It is really hard to watch someone behave badly, and then to feel sympathy or kinship towards that person.
In my art practice, I always look towards the possibilities. I don't worry too much about failure. I experiment, and have fun with my ideas. The glass is generally half-full in the clay shed. And, work feels good. Creativity flourishes when you let go, and when you stop trying to control everything so tightly.
In my teaching practice, I always look towards the possibilities. If a student has struggled in previous years, no worries. You get a clean slate with me. And, I am going to build a sincere relationship, not based on fake friendliness. I don't look at kids as oddballs or weirdos. This is probably because I was considered a weirdo in school. Each child is an individual. Each child has potential. I firmly believe that each child will progress academically, on his or her own timetable. I do my utmost to further that academic and personal progress. The goal is to encourage independence, and self-awareness.
If you are pounding me down, and expecting me to fail one minute, but trying to be my friend the next... Don't bother. I genuinely make a great deal of mistakes, but I give my best effort. After Kurt, I still have my three strikes rule with folks. I will forgive and forget to a point. But, there is an eventual end.
Thanks for reading this... It feels like a good time to affirm how I feel about my tasks, and my relationships.
Don't Give up the Ship
The leaders of our country were meant to govern, not to rule. In fact, the Declaration of Independence was written in order to explain to ...

-
I have spent the balance of the summer trying to recover from four years of low-grade mental, and emotional manipulation. And, I'm slo...
-
This letter arrived in the mail today, and made my day... I've been feeling a little cranky of late. I spent her year of fourth grade,...
-
This week, I've been building stumps. Since my backyard looks like the landscape has been clear cut, I thought it might be fun to enhanc...