Thoughts from Within

Have you ever wrongly blamed someone for something you didn't know you did? I think we've all been there. It's not a pleasant situation to find yourself in for sure, because crow tastes awful. I remember once blaming a college roommate for throwing away a midterm paper I had spent hours writing. I became flustered and angry and said some regrettable things to him. After rewriting my assignment, I headed to the printing lab, where I had left my first report lying at the printing table. Open mouth, insert crow. Fastforward 18 years. I am now an educator, and our school just finished up our first-quarter Parent-Teacher Conference. I dread the Parent-Teacher Conference. My fellow teachers also dread them. Why?  In one word.... Parents.  Today's parents (for the most part) are enablers. The enabling trend has worsened over the years with the ever-increasing influence of technology and the digital age (the connection is worthy of its own blog). Over the last 15...

In the wake of the recent school shootings in America, many have asked, "Why do we need access to "assault"-style weaponry as private citizens?" So... here's my take on the Second Amendment. Not to be argumentative... just posing a logical explanation. Let's say our government does begin to radically infringe upon our rights. Let's say a dictatorship does arise. The sole intent of the Founding Fathers to arm its people was to protect against a rogue government.  "But they never envisioned the type of guns we have today." This is the argument of many, which in my estimation falls flat on its face. Though they're right and it's true, the Founders could never have imagined the realm of destruction and devastation our modern-day privately-owned weapons wield. But they also never envisioned a government that has the military weaponry ours does today either. Can you imagine a suppressed citizenry trying to defend with single-s...

There may not be a man more responsible for the destruction of America than Mark Zuckerberg. I'm sure at the onset of beginning Facebook, this wasn't Zuckerberg's intent. I doubt it is his intent even today, but he unknowingly founded a company that has evolved into a platform that daily divides the American people further and further into a plethora of radical groups. A platform . That is exactly what it is. An online stage once created to share insights and stay connected with friends and family, Facebook- and all similar social media platforms- has developed into a platform where the most timid of us openly proclaim our unsolicited, and usually flawed opinions on topics that we really have no business even mentioning. Unfounded opinions that create anger and stir up controversy, and there is no repercussion for anything we type or the tone in which we deliver it because the comments are veiled in online anonymity. It sure is easy to bully and shame others when you n...

I love sports. Not all sports... just American ones... baseball, American football, basketball. Don't hate me, but you can have your soccer and hockey. Now, as to the aforementioned sports.. they appeal to me. They have for as long as I can remember. I was around ten or eleven when I really began to take note of certain athletes. Ones I aspired to be like. My favorite growing up was Bo Jackson. He was a two-sport athlete -- football and baseball. He was a beast of a man. He was big and powerful, yet, on the ball diamond, he had a grace about him. He took swings that were mighty, yet smooth. His form in the batter's box was impeccable. In the outfield, he could chase down what would normally be gap-bound doubles with ease. If you've followed sports going back to the late '80s and early '90's, you may even remember the highlight of Bo making a catch on the dead run and running up the side of the outfield wall because his momentum couldn't be stopped. On the...

This time of year is definitely an emotional roller coaster for the administrator of a Christian school. The end of the year is quickly approaching and we look back on all the successes of the last 10 months. Academic programs, fine arts competitions, educator's conferences, legislative tasks, Christmas programs, Spirit Week, achievement testing, classroom activities, administrative accomplishments, student progress… the list could go on. This year ’ s staff has been the best one ever—a team of dedicated, hard-working, enthusiastic teachers who have sacrificed so much for such little monetary compensation. Our students have excelled academically and – I ’ d like to say—spiritually over the past school year. Grades are up, spirits are high and camaraderie is at its peak. All in all… it has been a fantastic year. The best one yet in our 13-year existence. All that said, what could possibly get me down? Well, it ’ s commitment time. The time of year when our current parents...

In 1939, Academy award-winning director Frank Capra, produced and directed a film starring Jimmy Stewart entitled Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. In the film, Stewart’s character, Jefferson Smith, goes to Washington D.C. as a wide-eyed idealist completely naïve to the political process. In the end, Smith stands behind his convictions and elicits change in the capital’s business-as-usual attitude. In mid-September, I too, went to Washington. It was my first time visiting our capital city, and like Smith, I was wide-eyed and naïve. Over the years, I have had a growing interest in politics and the process by which our government operates. I had some knowledge – what one gets from civics classes and news sources– but my time in D.C. really allowed me to gain a better grasp on our federal government and how our Founders intended it to operate. The purpose of my visit was to spend a week on Capitol Hill lobbying on behalf of the Buckeye Christian School Organization (BCSO) and the...