On January 31, 2013, three prisoners at the Larch Corrections Center in Washington State were out picking up trash at a local park when they heard screams coming from nearby Salmon Creek. They spotted three children drowning after capsizing their canoe in turbulent waters. The three prisoners (Nelson Pettis, Jon Fowler and Larry Bohn) immediately jumped into the frigid waters to save the …
Boy Dying of Cancer Inspires Others
Zach Sobiech went for a run 3 years ago. He complained of pain in his hip and went to the doctor. The pain turned out to be a malignant tumor that eventually grew to the size of a plumb. He had multiple surgeries and chemotherapy – none of it worked. In May of 2013, the doctors told him that he …
Pistorius – The Ultimate Lesson On Anger Management
On Valentine’s Day, Oscar Pistorius allegedly (we just can’t officially say it) killed his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. He says that he mistook his girlfriend as a burglar and shot her through the bathroom door. Unfortunately for him, witnesses testified that they heard arguing in the residence before the killing and Steenkamp’s autopsy revealed that her skull was fractured by a …
Diversity of Character Movies: A Touchy, Yet Important Topic
I received a phone call from a teacher in Fresno, California last week. The teacher told me that the class was going well and they were about to begin the week on loyalty. She wanted to know if I had a “black” movie recommendation for that week because the movie on the list was, “A Walk to Remember.” She told …
Why Do Meteorologists Over-Hype The Weather?
I grew up in Michigan where snow storms and blizzards came with the territory. The meteorologist would take the last 3 minutes of the local news to give his/her best guess about the impending weather. Adults would watch and go about their business. Children would turn on the radio each morning to pray that their school would be canceled so they could all go outside and have some real fun …
The Lessons of Reality TV
Several years ago a study was conducted on the top 100 sitcoms (half hour comedy TV shows) of all time. As a class you can name many of them without looking at the list below. The researcher found something very interesting when he divided the list between “prior to Cheers” (1982) and those that came after 1982. All of the shows that came before Cheers …
The Impact of Violence in the Media
This and my next post (on reality TV) focuses on the relationship between television/movies/music and our culture. I will be asking you the question, “Does what we watch influence our thoughts, actions or viewpoints?” Before you answer, I want to share a few stories with you. Caution: This first story is very disturbing. Teachers please watch ahead of time to decide if this is appropriate …
New Year’s Resolutions…Good Idea or Waste of Time?
At the beginning of each year, roughly 45% of Americans make new year’s resolutions. Most of these resolutions pertain to health (lose weight), happiness (enjoy life more) or a new skill (learn a new language). Most are sincere when they make them, but only 8% of Americans are successful at changing their new resolutions into reality. Another 38% of Americans swear off the …
Lance Armstrong Deserves No Credit for Coming Clean
Sometime this week, Oprah Winfrey will interview Lance Armstrong and he is expected to guardedly admit that he used performance enhancing drugs during his tenure of winning 7 Tour de France titles. This confession will contradict his denials over the past decade to the contrary. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juVzHD7NEgk (before interview) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biIvT_r-DQg (part 1 of interview – watch first 5 minutes) Author’s Perspective: Lance Armstrong has a …
Students Choose Holding Hands As Punishment for Fighting
Two male students got into a fight at Westood High School in Mesa, Arizona. The principal decided to give these students an option – either get suspended or hold hands for one hour in front of other students. Both students chose to hold hands and forgo the suspension. Sounds innocent enough. However, during the one hour punishment, fellow students laughed at them, mocked them and called them names. Students took pictures and placed …