by Dawn | May 14, 2016 | social justice
A whole lot of schools are about to give back some serious federal dollars over a toilet or two. At issue is gender identity and whether schools should be required to have a gender-inclusive bathroom. Federal dollars are tough to come by. I know this because The...
by Dawn | Jul 16, 2015 | religion, social justice, spirituality, Teaching
I was on the subway next to a nun dressed in full habit. You don’t see nuns too often these days. They’re an endangered species. When I was little, they were everywhere. “Yes, Sister, no, Sister.” It’s how we addressed nuns. They had...
by Dawn | Feb 12, 2015 | social justice, Teaching
I was first generation that never sat at a counter at Woolworth’s. I never burned a bra. I didn’t need a bra but that’s beside the point. I wore mine dutifully with the other flat-chested girls who wouldn’t burn bras because we’d been liberated by our mothers. Girls...
by Dawn | Dec 29, 2014 | parenting, social justice
Christmas is over. I’ve spent weeks shopping, preparing, budgeting, cutting, slicing, roasting, entertaining, arguing, taping, and wrapping. Every bow has been removed, the egg nog has been drunk by the morning after. I want to rest. But now, it’s the...
by Dawn | Mar 16, 2014 | religion, social justice
“Plant your peas on St. Patrick’s Day!” It’s what the grandmas said. The leprechaun stands near the garden fence. “There’s snow on the ground,” I tell him. “A wee pint or two’ll cure it. You won’t feel a...
by Dawn | May 2, 2013 | education reform, family, gratitude, leadership, motivation, parenting, self-improvement, social justice
The boy slept on the desk. I woke him again. I wasn’t that boring. Maybe I was–am I qualified to make that determination? That was a minute of his life he would never get back. I asked him after class. “Was I that boring?” “No, Miss, I...
