Clarence Odbody, Angel Second Class, is one of the most memorable characters from the classic movie, It's a Wonderful Life. Clarence is charged with showing George Bailey how meaningful his life has been, despite George's wish that he had never been born. Clarence then goes on to show George what the world would have been like … Continue reading Who’s Your Clarence?
Today is my mom's 89th birthday. We just finished spending the night doing what we do every Friday night, having pizza at her house while watching TV (usually the news followed by Jeopardy followed by Wheel of Fortune). But despite the familiar routine, it was still a special day. Over the course of the day … Continue reading Happy Birthday Mom!
"How Long Does It Usually Take You to Settle Your Class Down?" I should have taken the question as a warning, instead I just treated it as a question from a curious middle-school student. It happened this past summer as part of a day long boot camp for students from low-income neighborhoods in Philadelphia who … Continue reading Kids Say the Darndest Things
As part of my evaluation at work, I have been asked to submit a statement of my teaching philosophy. You would think after 28 years of teaching I would either have such a statement, or at least be able to easily articulate what that philosophy is. Sadly, I do not have a statement, nor am … Continue reading My Teaching Philosophy
Yesterday's New York Times had a story about the far-reaching effects of falling. The article notes that while young children fall more than any other age group, the consequences are usually just minor cuts and bruises. However, among the elderly, the consequences of a fall can be devastating. Data shows that about 40 percent of … Continue reading Fear of Falling
I'm a big fan of great commercials. Commercials are like the tweets of the video world, trying to get their message across in less than one minute. I keep a list of my favorite commercials ( for when I talk about advertising in my class), so perhaps I'll start going through that list and sporadically … Continue reading My Favorite New Commercials
It started as a challenge, more specifically the WriteandRun31 Challenge started by Matt Frazier and Christine Frazier. The idea behind the challenge was to write and run every day for the month of January. Since I have often thought about starting a blog, I thought I would give this a shot. Once January ended I … Continue reading Why I Blog
My mailbox is overflowing once again, and I apologize that I am not able to answer all your emails and comments personally. Dear Jim, Have you noticed any changes in your life since you started blogging on a daily basis? Signed, Curious George Dear Curious, There have been a few changes, some good, some not … Continue reading Reader Comments and Questions
Villanova University has an outstanding Office of Health Promotion. Its mission (from its website) is "to provide evidence-based health resources, facilitate opportunities for students to build skills that empower them to make healthy lifestyle choices, and to instill a sense of personal responsibility for individual health and its impact on the health of the community." … Continue reading The SPICES of Life
Two days ago I wrote a post, "Nice is the New Black", which looked at the growing importance in business, and elsewhere, of being nice. On the same day, Stephen Schwarzman, CEO and co-founder of Blackstone Group (BX), one of the world's largest private equity firms,stated "To be hired at our place and work with us … Continue reading Apparently Being Nice Is Worth a Lot More Than I Thought
Borden's Blather 