Samuel Johnson - British author and critic in the late 1700's - once wrote, "Whoever surveys the world must see many things that give him pain." This afternoon, when I came home from school, Benson opened the gate for me as he usually does. I stopped on my way in and rolled down the window.... Continue Reading →
I just got back today from a five-day trek to Mt. Kenya - twelve teens, three teachers and one doctor spent the week hiking to 16,000ft and back. Wait, this sounds familiar. Didn't you do this last year? Yep! But this year was a little different. This was the "Advanced Mt. Kenya trip." Instead of... Continue Reading →
When you are a teacher in the northern hemisphere, measuring a year is a tricky thing. For reasons perhaps best understood by 19th century American farmers, the academic year and the calendar year do not match. My friends in the Kenyan school system, which runs from January to November, have a hard time understanding this.... Continue Reading →
What is success? How do we cultivate successful students? How do we model it as teachers? Is it possible to both succeed AND fail in the same endeavor? If so, is the overall effect one of success or failure? In my education classes at university, we generally defined educational success in two ways: a) meeting... Continue Reading →
Thursday: the almost-weekend day. Except today. No school on Friday means Thursday is Friday, and if Thursday is Friday, then everyone has "long weekend" on the brain. At 8:45 this morning, I walked into my first 5th-grade band class. What am I teaching today? Oh yeah, review a few exercises and Hot Cross Buns, then... Continue Reading →
Sunday afternoon. I sat on the step outside the rehearsal room resting my heavy eyelids and listening to the wind in the trees. At 3:15, only four out of sixteen of us had arrived. Don't fight it, go with the flow Lillis. No one else seems annoyed that everyone is late for practice. I looked... Continue Reading →
We live speaking permanence and breathing change. The gentle tap of raindrops on the pavement crept into the silence. Is that rain? I got out of bed and peered through the window into the gray-washed dawn. Wow - three days in a row now. After it's been dry for weeks. The young girl looked at... Continue Reading →
[Scene: 5pm rush hour, Riverside Ring Road. Two men on a motorcycle, one helmet.] "Eh bwana - my arm is tired. I think I will rest it a bit." [Scene: a few minutes later, just around the corner from the motorcycle men.] "Hey my car won't start. Can you tow me home?" "Sure, happen to... Continue Reading →
Last Monday I flew to the coast with seventy 12-year olds and eight other adults. "Sounds like a strange and twisted way to spend a vacation at the beach" you might say. If it had been a vacation, perhaps ... this however was school! Science class on the coral reefs, history class at the 14th... Continue Reading →
Blue skies smilin' on me Cattle lick dust, Dogs chew garbage. Baby lips burn and The red road clings to my skin. Nothin' but blue skies do I see. Dark days. Save the laundry for tomorrow; Maybe Sunday we will bathe. Blue birds singin' a song. Green trees like skeletal smiles - Leaves wave gently... Continue Reading →
Of Wonders & Wanders 
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