Overwhelmed!

I am somewhat freaked out by the number of hits my blogsite has taken today. On one hand I am happy as a clam at the numbers, higher than they ever have been before, way higher in fact. On the other hand, I keep wondering what I can do to maintain and/or surpass this in

Fluffy, boy wonder!

As a parent there are things one must learn to say to the children regarding issues that appear on a day to day basis.  I was always hell bent on making sure that my boys didn’t suffer the way I had as a kid, I really felt that they should benefit from my own suffering.

The Art of being self-conscious

At a very early age I learned to be self-conscious, or should I say that I was, perhaps, genetically predisposed to it.  As an educator I have been able to help many a student in a similar predicament.  I have always felt something special for the individual who is a victim of himself/herself and doesn’t

How I ruined my Mother’s Christmas Dinner!

  This is a story that has been told ad infinitum in my family.  It is a reminder to me of the type of thing one should never tell a child or a student.  This is not a true criticism of my mom, she just didn’t know better.  It has always annoyed me when someone

A field trip to Christkindlmarket by a German Class at Lake Forest High School

Today was a bit different.  Got up very early as usual, MK’s alarm goes off and the lightning shot of adrenaline hits my veins.  So miss the initial days of my pretirement when her alarm would go off and I would just continue to snooze for a few more minutes, and on rare occasions, even

Home Visit 2

  As an adviser* at New Trier, I was always wondering why it was that I seemed to get some of the most difficult young men in the school.  According to the policy, parents were not allowed to request an adviser.  Those of us in the trenches always questioned this despite the “party” response that

Windows, Popcorn, and Mashed Potatoes

It is amazing how sheltered and provincial people can be. Every once in a while little events occur that bring this thought to the forefront. I remember my wife telling me about the time she was carpooling when the kids were younger. One of the children in my wife’s favorite car, the Chevy Celebrity station

A lifechanging event…

When I was 19 ½, I flew from Cleveland to New York (Idlewild, now JFK airport) and then from there to Paris. It was a monumental trip for me. Upon leaving, my mother said to me, “You’ll never last!” Actually, her words were not far from reality. I was a relatively sheltered, shy, reserved young

La Semaine du Français 2003, an example of how to set up a successful National French Week at a High School

 I pulled this out of my archives to show the basic plan for a National French Week production at New Trier High School.  This is pretty much the format that we used every year with modifications here and there.  Here’s hoping this could be something of use to a current French teacher who needs an

Random thoughts of sons and family

Every parent has, at some time or another, the desire/wish to be alone and without any responsibilities in regards to his/her offspring. It can be overwhelming at times and the 24/7 nature of it can be enough to put some over the edge. One thing I have learned is that although one thinks that at