February 20, 2018
Filed In:
FatherhoodAs a parent, I have a ton of things that I want to teach my children. I want to give them the skills and values that I believe will help them grow into healthy, well-adjusted members of society. Resilience is one of those skills.
Read ArticleTags: Education Parenting
June 14, 2016
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Family LifeOne of the great tragedies of the American educational system is the way that it compartmentalizes learning. Learning and education, so it suggests, can only happen in a specific place and in a specific way. Thus, students must be in a classroom with books and a teacher in order for learning to happen. The problem is not so much the standardized format of instruction, but rather the subtle message that it sends.
Read ArticleTags: Education Wellness
April 21, 2016
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Family LifeLearning is a life-long pursuit and chances are, at one point or another, you’re going to sign up for some program of study in your adult life. You may be working on a degree, certificate, training program, leadership/management program, new job training, or even just taking up a hobby. The task of undergoing schooling so many years after you completed your last phase of education can be daunting. Yet, it’s a challenge worth taking on.
Read ArticleTags: Education
October 07, 2015
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PhilosophyWe live in a society that doesn't read. In 2013
a quarter of Americans didn’t read a single book. Ouch. What a waste. (
Author’s Note: It’s interesting that the median number of books was age and community agnostic, but not income agnostic!)
Read ArticleTags: Education
September 24, 2015
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Church and CultureIf you have a question about what the Church teaches, just go read the documents. Start with
the Catechism and then go and read supporting documents.
Read ArticleTags: Education
August 18, 2015
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PhilosophyOnline news is both a blessing and a curse. You can get up-to-the minute updates, but oftentimes the initial reporting is wrong. You can read stories from across the country and around the world, yet the stories are usually filtered depending on the bias of a particular news organization. Perhaps the worst part about online news sources is that the vast, vast majority of content is simply republished content from another source.
Read ArticleTags: Current Events Education
April 28, 2015
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Church and CultureLast December, during one of our regular visits to my parent's house, my dad handed me a book of his to read. This happens from time to time; a book that he got a great deal out of will end up in my temporary library to enjoy. Since I've committed to a habit of regular reading this year, my book queue is able to take on these random offerings.
Read ArticleTags: Current Events Education Political Life
March 20, 2015
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PhilosophySince late last summer, I’ve had a subscription to the Wall Street Journal. It’s my first newspaper subscription, having before gotten the majority of news from websites. I must say, there have been a lot of unexpected difference in the print news as opposed to digital news. I’ve grown to hate 24 hour news networks.
Read ArticleTags: Current Events Education Wellness
March 18, 2015
Filed In:
FatherhoodA routine is perhaps the greatest tool in the toolbox of parenting. Kids do wonderfully with routines. Not only do they provide consistency, but they give cues to kids about how they should behave. Routines also help parents manage the dozens of tasks that come with caring for and raising children. A routine helps a parent make major decisions once and simply manage them daily.
Read ArticleTags: Education Parenting
March 17, 2015
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Church and CultureI've recently started working on a family genealogy project. In the past, I hadn't much cared about my family's history beyond my grandparents, but lately I've become fascinated with our family's story. I'm basing all of my research around Benedict as the starting person and am excited about the journey that this is taking me on. While many of the discoveries have been very exciting, I've noticed something else that's rather tragic. In keeping with what I suspect is par for the course today, in the last 115 years, it's nearly impossible to find any branch of my family within two generations that hasn't been touched by divorce.
Read ArticleTags: Communication Education Virtue
March 13, 2015
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FaithLast Fall, Alison, Benedict, and I traveled to my cousin's wedding. While there, I saw one of those ubiquitous Catholic media CD displays in the back of the Church. A talk by Matthew Kelly caught my eye, so I picked up a copy knowing how much my sister enjoys his work. Alison and I listened on the drive home and something really stood out to me as Matthew was talking about what he thought our particular judgement would be like. He mused that God would ask us, "Did you read My book?"
Read ArticleTags: Education Prayer
March 05, 2015
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PhilosophyThere are limitless ways for us to use our free time during the day, but most activities leave us feeling empty. Watching a TV show can be entertaining in the moment, but when the moment has passed, it's plain to see that nothing really impacted you during the previous half hour. The plot may have been captivating and some of the lines may have even elicited laughs during the broadcast. Yet, once the credits start rolling, you're back to your life right where you were before you started watching.
Read ArticleTags: Education Wellness
February 02, 2015
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Church and CultureLast week, we celebrated Catholic Schools Week. While this post would've been much more appropriate had I posted it then, the editorial calendar simply wouldn't permit it. I would still like to share some thoughts about Catholic Schools in America and the role that they had in forming me.
Read ArticleTags: Education
January 22, 2015
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Church and CultureToday marks both a sobering anniversary and a special anniversary. Today is the anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that ushered in a new era of misnomers in healthcare and encouraged a culture that viewed children as the ultimate burden, as opposed to the ultimate blessing.
Read ArticleTags: Current Events Education Political Life
May 15, 2014
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Church and CultureThe average age of newlyweds is climbing in the United States. More and more young couples are delaying marriage for a significant period of time. It’s a troubling trend, but why are young people actively avoiding tying the knot?
Read ArticleTags: Current Events Education
March 27, 2014
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Church and CultureEvery day, everywhere that we go, we have the opportunity to show those around us what it means to be married. By our words and our deeds we implicitly share our experience of marriage with the world. What that means is that we have the opportunity to show how wonderful it is, or to witness poorly to it.
Read ArticleTags: Current Events Education
February 18, 2014
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Family LifeWhen we’re learning to drive, our instructors teach us how to pass the test, not how to drive well. There are many things that are like that in our world. In school, we’re taught to pass the test, not master the materials. So when we finish our education, we’ve learned a set of facts, not how to pursue lifelong learning.
Read ArticleTags: Education
December 05, 2013
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Church and CultureAugust 22, 2013
Filed In:
Church and CultureMarriage is a lot of things. It is painful, it is difficult, it is challenging. It is joyful, it is fulfilling, it is complete. Marriage is enduring, it is final.Read ArticleTags: Current Events Education
May 28, 2013
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Church and CultureGrowing up, I received most of my education from Catholic schools, thanks to the sacrifice of my parents. Each year, we would celebrate Vocations Week and have guest speakers come in and talk about vocations.Read ArticleTags: Current Events Education
