In Ohio, you join the teachers union. It is not an inexpensive membership. Dues can range from $650 to $800. Every year the union gives you a knick-knack. Lunch box. A fleece blanket. Flash drive. Ren and I like to come home and proudly display our $650 whatever. This year, because I wander the district, [...]

When he was an adolescent, a tractor rolled over my grandad. He spent the better part of a year in a body cast and, throughout his very full life, would make many a visit to the surgery that, over time, I suspect, made him the bionic man. In all my memories he walked with cane, [...]

I’ve become that man, that grumpy old man, who yells at kids to get off his yard. We live on a culdesac that, for some reason, never gets picked up by the all knowing google maps. People frequently map their way to our house only to call us at the dead end on the other [...]

Gail Collins‘ great quote on teachers today: Can I digress, people, and say that while it’s important to make teachers accountable, telling them their jobs could hinge on their students’ grades on one test is a terrible idea? The women and men who go into teaching tend, as a group, to be both extremely dedicated [...]

I’m happy to report that April 2nd was 2010′s Chacos’ Day. Technically, it wasn’t really the 1st day the Chacos have gone on the feet. Our adventures in Colombia were done mostly in a ripped up pair of Levi’s and the ever cool Chacos. But today was the first day in Cincinnati, so it counts, [...]