Respect
R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Find Out What It Means to Me RESPECT: a feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements. Two words in the above definition trouble me: feeling and elicited. Let’s start with “feeling.” Is...
Nicknames
Nickname. I don’t get it. Why not a TOMNAME or a JENNYNAME? Why does Nicholas get all the fame? Who is he, some sort of bigshot? When you think about it, how could we ever get along without nicknames? Many nicknames are cool like Rob instead of Bob for Robert. Some...
The Power of Love
It’s strong and it’s sudden; it can be cruel sometimes, but it just might save your life.” Huey Lewis, what do you mean? “More than a feeling; … harder than diamonds . . .just might save your life . . . with a little help from above . . . don’t take money, don’t take...
I’m Black and I’m Proud
"I'm Black and I'm Proud" Those five words were first sung by the legendary James Brown in Dallas, Texas in 1968. Wow! We all recall and respect Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as he stood up for his race in the face of terrible oppression. I wonder, however, how many...
Don’t Stand So Close to Me
Although the Police’s smash hit “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” was about a school girl’s fantasy about her teacher, the point of standing too close to someone can have the same connotation along with several others. Seinfeld did a skit on the “close talker” which was so...
Uncle Toms and Wiggers
Who was Uncle Tom? In black author Harriet Beecher Stowe’s 1852 novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin, he was depicted as a martyr and not a sell out to his race. His devotion to his fellow slaves was so unshakable that he suffered immensely and sacrificed a chance at freedom to...
I Can’t Hear You!
When you are at a concert, a meeting, a game, or any sort of presentation, it invariably happens. “Good morning,” “Are you having a good time,” “Cheer for the team,” “Get your hands together!” “Louder!” No matter how you respond, the "cheerleader" will invariably...
I, I, I, I, I . . .
You know them; you hear them; you recognize them: the people who cannot have a conversation without using the first-person pronoun multiple times in a space of minutes. English teachers forbid the use of the first-person pronoun in students’ essays for several good...
Talkin’ ‘Bout My Generation
In 1967, certainly an iconic year with the civil unrest throughout the country and, of course, the Detroit riot, the musical group The Who came out with “My Generation.” This angry tune makes it clear that we were unlike any previous generations and disdained anyone...
Talking vs. Listening
The first time that I taught study skills to high school students, I was amazed to see that listening was listed as one of the most important skills to learn. I think it was the “to learn” part that intrigued me. The book that had been put out by the National...
