You likely know the story–here’s the Cliff-notes version. Livi Petit and his OU fraternity brothers caught on tape in a hateful, disgusting, racist chant. Levi’s expelled, frat’s shut down, social media blows up in a frenzy of well-deserved denunciation. Then Levi steps up an apoligizes, owns his behavior, meets with the OU football team, reaches […]
Continue readingAuthor: Rich
Just Stop Trying
Stop trying. Start training. It’s one of my favorite principles. It’s a principle because it’s timeless and applies in just about any circumstance. In about two months I’ll give a talk at a TEDX event in Loveland. If you’re not familiar, TED talks are different than most other presentations. For one thing, they’re very structured, […]
Continue readingBrief Glimpses
Once in a while we get a brief glimpse of what God’s up to. Most of the time we’re pretty sure we see God’s hand in short-term results that happen to align with our desires. I’m certainly no expert, but I tend to think He works in bigger pictures and longer timelines. I see His work when […]
Continue readingFact
HAPPY MONDAY! A philosophy question prompts today’s word-of-the-week… FACT I always told my students it was wrong to cheat on a test. More than just against the rules, cheating was intrinsically, morally wrong in all circumstances. In 35 years I don’t think anyone ever questioned that assertion. I guess I assumed it was a fact, a moral truth. […]
Continue readingWhy We Must Tell Stories
TMI–we’re buried in an ever-increasing flow of information. Perhaps as little as 100 years ago an educated person might know most of the important information accumulated by civilization. Today that’s ridiculous as access to facts increases exponentially. Funny thing…it’s a bit like drinking from a fire hose. There’s plenty of water, but you may not […]
Continue readingStarbucks And RaceTogether
Did you follow the Starbucks #racetogether campaign? Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz basically offered baristas the opportunity to write the words RACE TOGETHER on cups. The program was voluntary. The goal was to spark conversations about race. The backlash was, to put it mildly, harsh. I guess I understand. Starbucks is a service business. People show up with certain […]
Continue readingConditional Faith?
“Your family and their descendants will be enslaved and abused for four hundred years, but then everything will be okay.” Imagine receiving THAT email. How would you respond? That’s exactly the message God delivered to Abram in Genesis 15. Among all His lofty promises, God assured Abram that he’d be fine but his family would endure […]
Continue readingWhen Laws Aren’t Just
From Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter From The Birmingham Jail: An unjust law is a code that a majority inflicts on a minority group that is not binding on itself. This is difference made legal. On the other hand, a just law is a code that a majority compels a minority to follow and […]
Continue readingThe Truth About Truth
“Science is true even if you don’t believe it.” So says Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, perhaps America’s most famous scientist. Dr. Tyson is a smart man, much smarter than I am, so with a lot of trepidation I suggest a more general statement. Truth is true even if you don’t believe it. I like science. I’m […]
Continue readingTummy Rubs
Yesterday we visited a new church. I don’t really understand church, but I’m just a dog. But the people were nice, and Becky and Rich had a good time. That’s good enough for me. If you haven’t been here long, I should explain our little secret. I understand everything Becky and Rich say. It doesn’t […]
Continue readingFast
HAPPY MONDAY! My “former teacher” self sponsors today’s word-of-the-week… FAST You should be able to do it fast without thinking. That was the commonly-accepted definition of basic skills “knowledge” when I started teaching. If you could get the right answer, fast, without thinking, you “knew” it. I was told to reward kids who produced fast answers […]
Continue readingWhat Should We Teach?
Most people can learn just about anything if they’re serious about learning it. My job as a teacher wasn’t teaching math. My main job was inspiring kids to care about learning math. If I could do that, no one could stop them from learning. Most of us don’t think in those terms. We believe the skills […]
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