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 readingAuthor: Rich
Why 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 […]
Continue readingHow Does Your Team Connect?
On the initial FREEDOM TOUR in 2013, I created every route. I obsessed over each detail, scoured Google for guidance, and was absolutely certain I had each turn of the entire week perfectly mapped out. I printed copies of my master plans, handed them out, and waited for the perfect results of my hard work. I got […]
Continue readingGoing Fast To Slow Down
I like cycling…a lot. I suppose that’s pretty evident to anyone who’s been around here a while. I like the challenge, the freedom, the exercise, the sense of accomplishment. I like the community and the solitude. But I think what I like most of all is that cycling forces me to unplug and slow down. […]
Continue readingTwo Roads Diverged?
Should we focus on teaching scripture or on outreach and social justice? Yes! Scripture-or-social-justice is a false choice created by people who are afraid. They want to build thick, fortified walls, fill the moat with monsters, and pull up the drawbridge so the big, bad, scary world can’t get in. Trouble is, Jesus said we’re […]
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