Teaching in Malawi- Mawingamara Start where you are. Use what you have, Do what you can. – Arthur Ash My brother has lived in Malawi, Africa since about 1985. He used to be named Byron, but these days he is known as Mawingamara and he is the tribal headman of the tiny village which he […]
“My approach to education was determined by the fact that in the most difficult boy I always saw another side. I sensed beneath the rough, defiant, and cynical attitude the yearning for appreciation, understanding, and the willingness to struggle to become an accepted member of society. I felt that the difficult boy-yes, even the young […]
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“Because you have taken hands, touched hearts and opened minds, you will never be forgotten. Love and best wishes.” Dedication on retired teacher’s quilt Phyllis Stephens, Quilt artist Brooklynartscouncil.org Every teacher needs to put this advice into her daily lesson plan book. It is the Three R’s to an educator’s peace of mind. […]
“The best things in life are old, loved and rescued.” – Anonymous madebybarb.com Up-cycled Sweater Quilt The consignment shop where I drift in and out to find bargains has a winter sale which is exceptional. They need to clear out their sweaters to make way for the lightweight tee shirts of a warmer clime. Ribbed […]
My mother married in 1930, just as the Great Depression descended upon our country like locusts on a cornfield. Her life in the Dust Bowl area included a Hooverville, The Black Hand, midwife delivery of my older brother, and feed sack material for hand sewing. While my father worked six days a week, 12 hours […]
On April 12, Street Children Day, my mind grappled with the statistic. An unbelievable 100 million youngsters in the world, living in the shadows, now stand in the light for all to see. Not just the rising toll of Syrian orphans who have lost their parents in war, but those waifs who eke out an […]
How many of us knew that April 12 was designated as Street Children Day? I didn’t, so on that day the plight of 100 million children in the world went unnoticed by me. The daily rising toll of orphans in Syria usually captures my attention, and I mourn for these little ones who have lost […]
“He watched over me before I knew Him and before I learned sense or even distinguished between good and evil, and he protected me, and consoled me as a father would his son.” -Saint Patrick The mid-March wind howled outside the large drafty windows of my classroom. Crispy gray snow piles ringed the playground […]
“Canned tomatoes are like summer saved: all that deep sun kissed flavor ready to be enjoyed.” – Better Homes and Gardens The kitchen knife slides easily across the cooked beets, creating burgundy cross sections of summertime goodness slipping into sterilized jars. A cup of hot vinegar-sugar syrup tops the beets then the metal lid and […]
“All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.” -St. Francis of Assisi From eQuilter.com As a child living in a struggling household, I attended a one-room school house in rural Wisconsin. The snow fell thick on the corn stubbed fields surrounding our school as the wind whistled around the […]