Once in a while I reminisce about my school days and think about those teachers in my life who most inspired me to learn. Ed Axtmann was one such teacher. His deep baritone, rumbled along with a hint of old country German as he recited countless verb conjugations in Latin. He was an animated presence, often […]
Category: teaching
Holy Moses
I had the opportunity this evening to spend some time with the kids at Legacy United Methodist. This month the kids have been talking all about ‘Creativity’ so my wife, Suzanne, (Kid’s Ministry Director and frequent favor asker) asked me to come and demonstrate how to make a ‘flip book’ animation for the kids using […]
I probably shouldn’t consider it such a huge deal, but I do. Every year I have the unique privilege of teaching some eager graphic design students the rigors of vector drawing. Drawing primitive shapes (circles, rectangles, polygons) with geometric precision doesn’t present many challenges, but the crucible for most recruits lies with learning the notorious pen tool. I can lecture, demonstrate and […]
August is an extremely busy time of year in our household. Summer has all but come to a screeching halt and all the things that were slated for completion go into overdrive. As a teacher this rhythm is expected, but right now I’m blanking out a bit with how to proceed. Every second counts and […]
The Sound of Silence
I never suffered allergies as a youngster but every year of my adult life I seem to develop more sensitivity to airborne allergens. At least that’s what I thought it was. What started out as a scratchy throat on Sunday turned into a full blown localized bacterial infection. I was convinced it had to be […]
The Talk
I knew the day was coming, but the school curriculum pretty much sealed the date. My oldest son’s class will soon be covering HIV in science and with it will come some talk about ‘changes’ they are all going through. Rather than have a bunch of squirrelly school boys educating each other, I thought I’d […]
Practical Jokes
Who doesn’t like a good laugh now and again? Practical joking has always been a creatively effective way to make someone laugh – providing no one gets hurt. A lot depends on who you’re pranking, too. I’ve been the victim of a few practical jokes – some unknowingly (much to the chagrin of the pranksters) […]