Thoughts, experiences and adventures from a resident of DelSo aka Delaware Avenue South in Albany, N.Y.
Driving to work the other morning, I heard a story on NPR about a movement presently gaining traction in the midwest - risky play. This unstructured free play, which has been present and promoted in Canadian schools for decades, is thought to foster communication and cooperation between participants, two actions I believe we can all agree should … Continue reading Risky business
We’re living in a country where the Republican vice presidential candidate believes that school shootings are a fact of life in contemporary American society. The answer, of course, is more guns because schools (and concert venues and churches and grocery stores and movie theaters and shopping malls and…) are “soft targets” which need to be … Continue reading How does one plan a national walkout?
It was a new school year, my first in the school district where I later received tenure for the second time. The book salesman was late for our introductory meeting. When he arrived he was flustered and he apologized in a distracted fashion. ”A plane flew into one of the twin towers,” he told me. … Continue reading I haven’t forgotten
Just another day in America yet, somehow, since it’s the day before my students return to their classrooms after summer break, the latest school shooting in the United States is hitting me hard. Why do we tolerate this? Why do we allow our government to do nothing? Why have we given organizations like the NRA … Continue reading Starting the school year off with a bang
I learned this week of the loss of a friend from high school. Before I go further, you should know a couple of things - first I hesitated to write “friend,” because it’s a word that suggests a connection and intimacy that I wasn’t certain I should claim there had been between Gary and myself. … Continue reading Death of a crusader
Although I read a lot of books (I’m on my 11th of this new year already), it isn’t often that I find one which speaks to whom I was as a young teen and whom I am now strive to be as a school librarian. Katie Van Heidrich’s memoir, The In-Between, told in verse, manages to … Continue reading For lost girls looking to be found
I think the happiest people I know all celebrate their birthdays more authentically as they age. that anniversary of another year around the sun becomes more significant as the number of years lived grows - and those still to come diminishes. there’s been a recent round of birthdays in my social circle and more than … Continue reading the weight of the world
DelSo 