Author Archives: Allen Astin
Note to Myself
Any religion, that has as its primary offering salvation in the afterlife, is a business and is more a reflection of the very ancient human need to purchase guarantees in an uncertain universe. The real spiritual challenge exists now in … Continue reading
Unity Does Not Mean That We Agree
Folks, please understand that our freedoms, our rights, our laws, our communities, our way of life needs to be cared for like anything sacred. History has shown us the nightmare of megalomaniacal leadership and the unity and victory of thoughtful, … Continue reading
The Elders
A word about the elders in our lives: I am alive, grateful, and care for others because of the elders in my life. All of my parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles, Zoe Barker and Liz Horton, teachers like Gerry … Continue reading
The Space of Acceptance
We would never intentionally sleep while driving. When driving we are alert and cautious. When handling a baby we are soft and sensitive to the bundle of joy. We all know that some behaviors belong in some places and not … Continue reading
Let Them Teach
This list was compiled from a Facebook post about teaching. This list is not comprehensive and includes tasks for both general and special education teachers, but these tasks often involve both sped and gen ed teachers. This post does not … Continue reading
Toxic Stress Derails Healthy Development Children who experience early life toxic stress are at risk of long-term adverse health effects that may not manifest until adulthood. – National Institutes of Health (Franke, 2014) Click here for information on reducing the … Continue reading
There wasn’t room on FB for my reply!
What I appreciate about your response is that it was specific and solution oriented. With honest specifics, we can have a conversation that may lead to an idea that we both agree on. I don’t mind a little sarcasm as … Continue reading
An Excellent History Lesson In Six Minutes
“We must make our choice. We may have democracy, or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both.” – Justice Louis Brandeis, 1924 This is an excellent history lesson in six minutes … Continue reading
Grandpa and STEM
“We believe that there is a romance in precision measurement, and that the ability to extend the absolute accuracy of measurement by one decimal place frequently demands as much ingenuity, perseverance, and analytical competence as does the discovery of a … Continue reading
Hurricane Harvey
Helping each other cuts to the core of what it means to be human. At the risk of sounding insensitive, a crisis simplifies what it means to help another: tearing out drywall, doing laundry, offering a living space, feeding a … Continue reading