One of my favorite walking activities involves shutting my eyes for as long as I can.  I choose sidewalks with grass on both sides, or smooth trails that are straight with no stones or potholes.  The experience of temporary blindness allows me to enter the environment with no focus, no distractions except for the wind… Read More

This was the command from my mother when I was in elementary school. The assignment in class was to speak about our family background. The kids awkwardly told stories about the origins of their grandparents in Ohio or somewhere in California, and then moved to their home in North Hollywood. Their stories were antiseptic, hagiographic,… Read More

The struggle to teach traditionally vs. the struggle to teach with a different pedagogy Read More

In the summer of 1961, I left my job in Harlem where I was working with gang members as a community worker, for a student life at Yale that catapulted me from clamorous chaos to hushed academia. Read More

From 1965-67, I studied Chinese in Taiwan, Republic of China. Although I was a dedicated student, I found myself more involved in human rights opposing martial law. Read More

In Minnesota, winter is both a threat and a reward. Read More