Looking for Truth in Onaway

      It’s really hard to resist. Some people, some behaviors, some situations, seem to cry out for a clever or apt nickname. Some are okay, like Broadway Joe or Slammin’ Sammy. Others are pejorative, meant to belittle or humiliate. Those are the ones you have to avoid. In a disagreement, it’s easy to resort to name-calling, but it’s an ignorant, nasty way to operate. Consider how childish a person has to be to argue, not with facts or information, but with attempts to hurt an opponent's feelings. It starts when we're young. A friend once confessed that all her life she felt like she was overweight because kids on the playground called her “Fatty Patty.” She was never overweight; I suppose it was the rhyme that appealed to kids, but only to those unkind enough to think hurting another person’s feelings is funny. For me it was kids who thought it was funny to call me "Piggy." Kids can be cruel, but let’s be real: they learn such behavior from adults who never r

  I once had a student chastise me—gently, but sincerely—for telling my class that Richard the Lionheart might have been homosexual. It isn’t a big deal, except it’s one explanation for why he left no heirs, despite having a lovely bride. It meant we got his half-crazed brother John as king when Richard died. Hence the Magna Carta. The student stayed after class to share her opinion that kids (in this case 10 th graders) should only be told “good things” about famous people. History should be uplifting, she maintained, showing us how to be the best we can be. Knowing that came straight from her father’s mouth, I didn’t argue, but thanked her for her input. Too many are sliding into that mindset these days. According to some, it’s bad to admit that our country has faults. It makes students feel “ashamed” of their race and their heritage. I have issues with that mindset. First, truth is truth , no matter how much we might dislike it. I admired Bill Clinton as a President, but wh

  The uproar in this country and in our community about teachers “grooming” students is downright silly. Here’s what we would groom them to do if we had any power over them. Bring their materials to class. Understand the difference between you’re and your. Hit the wastebasket every time. Stop starting sentences with “So--” Use their inside voices.