Category: Freedom Tour

As cyclists get older, they start talking about “riding their age” on their birthday. A 49-year-old will ride 49 miles, and then continue it each year. One more mile doesn’t sound like much until you get to 65 years old riding 65 miles. When you enter my age group, riding your age is a bit […]

The 11th annual FREEDOM TOUR CLASSIC happened Saturday. In the aftermath, someone asked me how I felt about the day. I replied, “It probably could have gone better, but I don’t know how!” Colorado has been unseasonably rainy all spring, and we were concerned how about the weather. The day turned out warm, sunny, and […]

Ever notice how it’s almost a cultural norm to slow down and look at a car wreck? Happens in lots of places. Much of what passes for news is metaphorical car wrecks, because advertisers and producers know we’ll slow down and watch. On the other hand, nobody’s clamoring to watch a kid coding a cool […]

A friend said last week that you don’t need to put a sign in front of an apple tree to know it’s an apple tree. You know it’s an apple tree because it produces apples. We have crosses on our FREEDOM TOUR jerseys. They’re a symbol, a proclamation about who we represent. But my friend’s […]

When kids are enslaved in brothels, are they bought…or are they sold? To me, it’s a curious question. Without demand this entire sordid business couldn’t flourish as it does. In that sense children are bought like any other commodity in any other marketplace. But on the other side of the equation, marketers work to supply […]

Someone suggested an interesting exercise. First, make a list of what you really want. Next, make a check next to the items obviously generated by cultural norms. Finally, mark the items that represent actual needs. How much of what we want actually flows from our cultural ideas? How often do we let the culture turn […]

It’s been a while…last time we talked a little about sharing our experience with others. I remember my first college calculus class like it happened yesterday. I can see Dr. Cornett in front of the lecture hall, and I still remember what he explained that day. He didn’t begin with a bunch of problems or […]

My friend John Swanson wrote an interesting blog about experience. My takeaway: If you do something for a while, you might get good at it. And if you’re good at it, then it might be a gift you can share with others. I spent 35 years in classrooms with students. Recently I’ve had a chance […]

“Notes don’t lead to learning.” It was a common statement in my classroom. I encouraged students to take notes, the more the better, but I always tried to be clear that notes and summaries don’t create learning. Only one thing creates learning – choosing to do the hard work of understanding. And that doesn’t happen […]