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Does it seem to you that a lot of the controversies in education (homework, grading, punishment, curricula) exist because people aren’t considering things from the student’s point of view and what they might need?

Picture yourself in Bavaria in the spring, in a friend’s back-yard, admiring the view of the Alps in the distance. Your host, showing you around, spots this little weed, and exclaims, “Schau m…

The South Carolina legislation is trying to put cursive back in schools. My son is in high school and still can’t sign his name in cursive, so I think this is good. But will it take away from …

Years ago I worked in a department of five people and one day our director was replaced with someone new. The new leader of our team brought a small radio into our office and started playing s…

In Kevin Henkes book, Owen, his mom must convince him to surrender his blanket, a comfort item that is no longer age-appropriate, before he starts school. Her attempts are unsuccessful until s…

What can be done about a child who is an all-A student taking courses above her grade level yet despises school as “stupid, slow, and boring?” She considers herself to be not especially smart,…

Three months after my best friend in Charleston passed away, my birthday rolled around. I felt her loss in a particularly strong way that day, because she always spent our birthdays with us. S…

Do you believe there is such a thing as good and evil, God and Satan? When something good happens do you thank God because you believe He blessed you? What about when something bad happens? In…

Emily Winfield Martin’s children’s book, The Wonderful Things You Will Be, expresses the hopes we have for our children. It also serves as a reminder that those same children belong to God fir…

At the beginning of the year, the teacher of an 8th-grade honors class informed her students that most of them would fail. Was this to challenge the students not to fail or an excuse to accoun…

Life is filled with ifs. The ever constant dilemma is: "If I do this, what will happen?" People also lament about the past with thoughts of "If I had only done things differently ..." Then the…

The Tulip Magnolia (Saucer Magnolia) is blooming in the Lowcountry. It is time to be sure the winter projects have been completed, and the proactive spring projects in the yard and around the …

I'm just like Lord Bardolph, who was afraid that just as soon as the new buds start to show, a cold spell will come along and "bite" them.

How often do you hear it's not what happens to us, but how we respond? We know we will face trials in this life, so it only makes sense to prepare how we are going to react when they arrive. T…

Recently, I attended an event where the music was loud. Really loud. So much so that my ears hurt for a couple of days afterward. I was especially worried about this since my dad suffers from …

We have more local, state and federal laws than we can count, laws that were written by our elected officials for the benefit of all citizens who are ordered to obey them, even those laws the …

The Saucer or Tulip Magnolias are blooming, which usually indicates spring is rapidly approaching. Camellias are blooming. My Bottlebrush have survived so far. Hibiscus, lantana, and cassia no…

For many of us, it would be a dream to recreate the trip taken by Phileas Fogg in Jules Verne’s classic novel Around the World in 80 Days. But even if you aren’t able to travel the globe, you …

As a physician who cares for older adults in Charleston, I see the profound impact that social isolation and loneliness have on our seniors. Those feelings can become even more pronounced as V…

Selling yourself short results from undervaluing your abilities, capabilities, potential and worth. Whenever someone sells himself or herself short, they limit, from the start, what they'll be…

Wow, what a difference a week makes. I went from admiring my hibiscus, milk weed, cassia, lantana and bottle brush in mid-January to smelling the very distinctive smell of cold damaged, dead f…

One of my favorite trees here at the University grows right behind the herbarium. It’s been there for years (the building was constructed about 1974), and is now about 25-feet tall. 

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein is a tale of unconditional love. The story begins with a boy and his best friend, who is a tree. Every day the boy climbs the tree to eat the apples and sle…

I want to begin today by saying how much I appreciate you for being a faithful reader of this newspaper and this column. Newspapers are still considered valuable to the older generations as th…

Kids seem to be worse behaved than ever. I volunteer at my daughter’s school, and so many kids are rude to adults and hateful toward each other. In public, kids are the same way even if their …

“One cannot and must not try to erase the past merely because it does not fit the present.” — Golda Meir

I went to a funeral recently for someone I had never met. It was a small, graveside ceremony for a very well-loved lady who was a mother, a grandmother and a great-grandmother. Her grandson ga…

I dealt with fear and anxiety for over twenty years and there are 21 facts that I discovered during my mental health struggles that can help anyone who struggles with fear and anxiety.

At my child’s elementary school, when a student dresses inappropriately, they make the student wear a bright red shirt all day. Does stigmatizing kids like this really deter them from breaking…

A few weeks ago, we talked about a man named Achan and how his secret sin was not a secret to God. The book of Joshua in chapters 6 and 7 reveals this was not a situation where a person steals…

The Father of plant taxonomy, Carl Linnaeus, probably had had a run-in with his editor, while working on his monumental Species Plantarum, in which he attempted to describe all the known plant…

Money, food, friends, happiness, time and food; how much do you need in order to have enough? Those who appreciate all they have, always have more than they need. However, those who want more …

There are two approaches districts utilize in hiring a new superintendent: 1) promote from within the District; or 2) employ a regional/national search for candidates if there are deemed to be…

We talked about taking a stand for Christ last week, but being a Christian is also a walk which in the light of scripture refers to conduct. Ephesians the second chapter mentions how we once w…