Life – Page 13 – Embrace the Absurd

On The Road Again

K-12 education and the road to recovery K-12 education is about to head out on the road again. This time it’s the road to recovery from the pandemic. As I think about K-12 education starting this journey, I can’t help but make the connection to a journey of my own that took place 50 yearsContinue reading “On The Road Again”

Be Afraid of Being Very Afraid

We are being conditioned to distrust one another. The message of fear that has been building steadily over five years has now reached new and dangerous levels, breaking through natural barriers of resistance in the weeks since the horrific and tragic events of January 6th. From the basket of deplorables to the compulsion to furtherContinue reading “Be Afraid of Being Very Afraid”

How the Grinch Stole Testing

Everyone in the state house likes State Tests a lot, But to the west at the uni, the Grinch he did not! The Grinch hated State Tests! The whole testing season! Now, please don’t ask why. To ask would be treason. It could be, perhaps, he was wound up too tight. It could be hisContinue reading “How the Grinch Stole Testing”

A Pawn’s Life

The Queen’s Gambit, the compelling Netflix mini-series, has created a mini-resurgence in interest in chess, boosting sales of chess sets and chess books. For nerds of a certain age, however, it wasn’t a fictional account of a troubled young American chess champion taking on the Soviets that grabbed our attention and made chess a required chapter in ourContinue reading “A Pawn’s Life”

‘Tis the gift to be simple

’Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free’Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,And when we find ourselves in the place just right,’Twill be in the valley of love and delight.When true simplicity is gained,To bow and to bend we shan’t be ashamed,To turn, turn will beContinue reading “‘Tis the gift to be simple”

The People You Meet

You meet a lot of people over the course of a 30-year career – even if you do skip most of the group dinners and all of the receptions. If you are lucky, there are a few close friends and perhaps a mentor or two. At the other end of the continuum, there are so manyContinue reading “The People You Meet”

For the Hope of It All

As I make my daily walk, enveloped by beautiful fall foliage, taking a break from the news, listening to folklore, and hearing Taylor Swift sing, “Back when I was living for the hope of it all,” my mind drifts back to August 2007. Drawn in by Barack Obama’s message of hope and change, for theContinue reading “For the Hope of It All”

Thinking Outside of the Ballot Box

If there is one thing that we can agree on in this divided country it is that 2020 has sucked. If the cascading crises were not bad enough, we have also lost almost all of the distractions and diversions we normally rely on to escape and reduce stress: attending sporting events, live concerts, and musicalContinue reading “Thinking Outside of the Ballot Box”

For Dad

Thinking of my Dad on what would have been his 92nd birthday. The eulogy I delivered at his funeral in June 2009.

The Old “New Normal”

Charlie DePascale As I look out the window and see my wife working in her vegetable garden, I cannot help but reflect on COVID-19, social distancing, hand washing, mask wearing, and the “new normal” that we are moving toward by fits and starts. No, she is not wearing a mask in our backyard, but …Continue reading “The Old “New Normal””