As my son Eric wraps up his third year of travel baseball, I realize I have different expectations than most dads. Many dads focus on our sons’ performance on the field, with little tolerance for mistakes. A boy will make an error, and some dad will scream in disgust — “That can’t happen! It can’t
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Several times a year I require my students to memorize a poem. Sometimes I choose for them (say, “Death Be Not Proud,” by John Donne). Sometimes I hand them an anthology and let them choose. I don’t explain rhyme scheme or poetic devices. I only ask that the students know the meaning of every word
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Sitting in my winter coat, a Styrofoam cup of tea in hand, I listened in awe as the orchestra on stage finished Gustav Holst’s “Jupiter.” Nearby, several friends of mine sat in similar joyous awe, taking in the music. This was a regular Friday or Saturday evening occurrence during my college years. Thanks to the
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A few years ago, some friends of mine had their seventh child. At home. By themselves. No expert help. Things weren’t supposed to happen that way, but there was literally “no room at the inn” (hospital) when the time came for the baby to be born, and baby wasn’t about to be put on a
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New information from the 2022 Cooperative Election Study has brought renewed focus on connections between political affiliation, happiness, and mental health. Using graphs and data from this study, statistician and political analyst Nate Silver found that a sizable mental well-being gap exists between those on the right and left. Silver demonstrates that across every category
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I browsed the shelves for as long as my mother would allow when I visited the library as a child. When her patience – or our available time – finally petered out, I brought seven or eight books up to the library counter to check out – a healthy mix of historical fiction, fantasy, mystery,
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