Tag: teacher

Educator Mollie Gruennert: Creating School Environment with Joy, Beauty, and Shalom– Part 2

Educator Mollie Gruennert: Creating School Environment with Joy, Beauty, and Shalom– Part 2

Last time I introduced you to my former student, Mollie Gruennert. When my daughter Kaia was born, Mollie gave her a cute cloth doll. Much later, when I told Kaia that the doll was from Mollie, Kaia promptly named the doll after her. So over the years, we’ve had a sweet...Read More
Educator Mollie Gruennert: Creating School Environment with Joy, Beauty, and Shalom– Part 1

Educator Mollie Gruennert: Creating School Environment with Joy, Beauty, and Shalom– Part 1

Mollie Gruennert is passionate. She has always desired to make a difference, exemplifying this outlook: "I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters  to create many ripples."   ― Mother Teresa This desire has taken many routes, primarily in education. She received a B.S. in Education...Read More
Monday Metaphor Musings #3

Monday Metaphor Musings #3

What do you think of when you hear the word door? Or when you see a picture of a door? Does it make a difference which kind of door? Time for another word-association exercise. You did this before by brainstorming the word web and by finding the right metaphor to describe...Read More
People Watching, #2

People Watching, #2

Have you done any people watching lately? Last time we looked at Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks. [caption id="attachment_745" align="aligncenter" width="456"] Via State Library of New South Wales[/caption] Aside from knowing that a picture is worth 1000 words, a picture evokes 1000 stories. If I showed a picture to a dozen students...Read More
Should kids get trophies for participation?

Should kids get trophies for participation?

When my kids were in elementary school, they received little trophies each year just for running in the jog-a-thon fund-raiser. Speed or agility didn’t matter. The number of sponsors and the amount you raised didn’t matter. You could get a trophy just for the fact that you showed up and...Read More
Monday Metaphor Musings #1: Web

Monday Metaphor Musings #1: Web

What comes to mind when you think of the word web? I teach writing students how to brainstorm ideas on paper, using a webbing technique that some call clustering. Many teachers use this. The rules are simple: start with a word, phrase, or concept in the middle of the page,...Read More
Artist/Teacher Laura Fesser, Part 2: Inspiring students

Artist/Teacher Laura Fesser, Part 2: Inspiring students

Artist Laura Fesser not only creates art but teaches art. My four children had the privilege of being in her elementary art classroom. In fact, I was thrilled because she had the uncanny ability to bring out the best in them. Because of her, for the first time ever, my two...Read More
Artist Laura Fesser, Part 1: Inspired by Polymer, Playable Guitars, & Portraits

Artist Laura Fesser, Part 1: Inspired by Polymer, Playable Guitars, & Portraits

Laura Fesser wears two creative hats: artist and teacher. Her lively artwork brightens our community at the local hospital, library, and gallery, as well as numerous homes. Laura teaches elementary art at Heritage Christian School where I started the secondary art program years earlier. Later, she taught my four children,...Read More
A Different Kind of People Watching, Master Painting #1

A Different Kind of People Watching, Master Painting #1

Are you a people watcher? Are you entertained by the family dynamics of people in museums, restaurants, and airports? Do you sit in public places and make predictions about the passers-by, or develop their life histories? What occupations and hobbies they have? What personality types they exhibit? A variation of...Read More
Process vs. Product: the Sizzle or the Steak?

Process vs. Product: the Sizzle or the Steak?

We all love shortcuts. From dishwashers to washing machines, from cars to planes, from texting to email, from Google to apps for anything you can imagine, the modern world is all about convenience and finding the easiest and fastest way to do something. But that’s not how creativity usually works....Read More