I was looking through my baby book a few months ago and found one of my report cards from early elementary school. Most of my grades were good enough, but I was surprised to see an especially low grade in writing. I looked to the teacher’s notes for an explanation and read something like this: “Glennon is struggling in writer’s workshop. She is going to need to really apply herself to catch up with the other students.” I know Bubba and Tisha well enough to be certain that they were very concerned about this writing problem, concerned about what it…
On Gifts and Talents
for little e, and l “Don’t worry, Scout, it ain’t time to worry yet,” said Jem. He pointed. “Looka yonder.” In a group of neighbors, Atticus was standing with his hands in his overcoat pockets. He might have been watching a football game. (*He was actually watching the house next door to the Finch home burn to the ground.) “See there, he’s not worried yet,” said Jem. (8.105-107) To Kill a Mockingbird I’ve been thinking about my mama friends for whom the start of the school year is a difficult time, because the classroom has proven to be a tough…
It’s Still There
According to Paolo Coelho, author of The Alchemist, this is why we don’t Follow Our Dreams: “There are four obstacles. First: we are told from childhood onward that everything we want to do is impossible. We grow up with this idea, and as the years accumulate, so too do the layers of prejudice, fear, and guilt. There comes a time when our personal calling is so deeply buried in our soul as to be invisible. But it’s still there. If we have the courage to disinter dream, we are then faced by the second obstacle: love. We know what we…