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Questions Anyone? Too Bad!
Raise your hand if you have kids.Wow, that's a lot of kids.I promise this won't be a post about my toddler, suffice it to say that he is only two... a little young to be asking questions. Yet as a...
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Shoveling it Down: An Ode to Food
I haven't reduced my holiday calorie intake. I think by mid-April I might return to normal levels.Whether it's huge helpings, the need for dessert nightly, or taking advantage of endless choices for...
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Parkinson's Law
Parkinson's Law is the adage first articulated by Cyril Northcote Parkinson as the first sentence of a humorous essay published in The Economist in 1955.The rule (which is not a law at all but an...
View ArticleStill Trying to Be Professional
I am guilty of often promising another post on this or that, without delivering much.Consider that faux pas corrected herewith.Referring to a post 18 months old, I now present a more detailed argument...
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Students Just Don't Understand
Remember that Will Smith...er, I mean, Fresh Prince song, "Parents Just Don't Understand."?Classic. The funniest thing about that video is that the Prince's parents ended up being right about most...
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The Big Picture: Clarity, Part 2
Let's be clear, folks. Clarity is a two-way street.By that I mean that in order for communicators to be clear, messages need to have sufficient detail. But getting lost in specifics doesn't clarify....
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Not Differentiating Kills
When I went to Basic, I assumed that they would put me with a bunch of older recruits.I was, after all, 30 at the time. By the time I left boot camp nine weeks later, I was 31, but aged the equivalent...
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Militarism Isn't All About Militarism
Columbia University is twisting itself up trying to figure out if ROTC should have a place there.When an Iraq War veteran stood up to support ROTC at a public hearing at the Ivy League school a few...
View ArticleLet Me Have Your Attention
When two Soldiers appeared in my high school math classroom last year, every student came to attention.It was a reflex thing. When those two men strode in, upright, full of confidence, and perfectly...
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AARs and Nickelodeon
DJ Lance would make a nifty Soldier. If you don't know who he is, you are missing out on one of the most captivating and entertaining characters on all of Nick Jr.I was watching "Yo Gabba Gabba!" with...
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The Discipline Which Makes Men Reliable
Some of the most inspirational words I have ever read came form a poster on the monochrome walls of the barracks at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.“The discipline, which makes the soldiers of a free country...
View ArticleGood Leaders: The Readers Speak
The results are in. I will now proceed to inform you what 53 of my my closest friends/ email contacts/ their email contacts think are the most important traits of an Army leader.But first, some setting...
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Four-Star Accolades
I'll cut right to the chase, here. Rewards work!While I was working several years ago in Hayward, California, students arrived daily to a dilapidated elementary building that had been re-purposed as a...
View ArticleClarity, Part 3: Let's Be Honest
Ever feel like you don't need to know anything?I sure hope not. It's hard to do your job or move ahead when you're in the dark. As a junior Soldier, I was often frustrated when my leaders wouldn't shed...
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Is It Better to Be Reliable or Excellent?
A few weeks ago, I paid homage to Maj. Gen. John Schofield for his insight into what makes Soldiers successful. To be more specific, he referred to battlefield success as "reliability."I instinctively...
View ArticleTeamwork Saves Lives and Time
"I am a Warrior and a member of a team."That line from The Soldier's Creed might apply even better to students. While individual achievement is on everyone's mind, teachers all want to develop soft...
View ArticleThe Reasonableness Standard
Let's be reasonable folks.Seriously, how frustrating is it to deal with unreasonable people? They pretty much suck.I have never had an unreasonable boss, nor have I had unreasonable teachers. I have...
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This Isn't Your Father's National Guard
While serving as a public affairs specialist in Kosovo, I had the pleasure of conducting a brief interview with the Vice President of the United States. For those (83% of Americans) who don't know who...
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Volunteerism at its Best
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the death of the American military draft. Good riddance.It's a favorite topic of mine, so I'll be posting quite a bit in the next few months on the topic. I've...
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Your Humble Correspondent in Korea
What can I say about the Korean War?I'd like to know more. My initial impressions all have in common that they reflect a profound underestimation, from an American perspective, of its importance. For...
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