Tag Archives: Chicago

When Nature Deficit Disorder Hits the Classroom

The students in my class for behavior disorders leaned forward on their desks. “We don’t got no leaves where we live.” For three days, I had begged them to bring in autumn leaves to press between pages of a catalog then use for leaf rubbings. On day four, still no leaves from them. “I find […]

Mother’s Day- A Tribute to Birth Mothers and Stepmothers

My mother, Edythe (Bergstrom) McAlllister,  died in July of 1950, two months before I started first grade at St. Sabina’s grammar school in Chicago. She died from a blood clot after a gall bladder operation. I was devastated. My brother, Danny, and my dad took over the household duties. In the summertime my Aunt Margie […]