“Vince Lombardi, arguably the most inspirational American football coach of all time said, ‘Practice doesn’t make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.’” The idea is that repeatedly practicing imperfect technique may indelibly imprint the repeating of the same when it really counts on game day. But what if every day is game day? There are those […]
Letter: Beyond The Lock, The Adventure Begins
“The Secret Garden,” by Frances Hodgson Burnett, 1911, would be judged “one of the best children’s books of the 20th Century.” It began with a tragedy, a locked gate, and a buried key. A quite stark reverse of fortunes from the locked gate that led to the happy ending of “The Secret Garden” is the […]
Letter: If Not Today, Then Tomorrow
I have a friend who I met only once. As all the rest of us are in the second day of incrementally accomplishing our list of New Year’s Resolutions, my friend has one too. But only one. To come home. If not today, then tomorrow. From the hospital. He just wants to come home. As […]
Letter: Room for Discussion – The Mascot Matter and What It Has to Do with Education
Submitted by David Anderson and Paul Wagemann. In the December 13, 2021, meeting of the Clover Park School Board, the directors were unanimous in pausing the end-of-year deadline by which to have selected the new mascot of Clover Park High School. As the school board director who initiated this recommendation that the deadline be extended, […]
Letter: Locked Out
No in-person attendance will be allowed at the Dec.13, 6 p.m. public meeting of the Clover Park School District (CPSD) Board of Directors. No reason is given for excluding the public in the announcement on the CPSD webpage. Why “remote access only” introduces the momentous events of the evening – which include the swearing in of […]
Letter: Just With Her Hands
Drifting back and down in the back eddy of the meandering brook, the two leaves were reminders of her aging mother’s hands, the lacey patterns of fine blue veins a testament to the beauty of growing old. As the mottled, almost translucent leaves slowly moved with the current, so her hand would guide the hand […]
Letter: Flowers – Metaphors Of Life
Once they were the pride and joy of the flower garden, once their fragrance filled and lingered in the morning air. Once they brightly greeted the rising sun, opening wide to embrace and enjoy the warmth of a new day. Once they were the delight of passersby, who often tarried for a long while at […]
Letter: It’s Not At All Black Or White
Clover Park School District has the third highest percentage of Black or African American residents in Washington. No wonder then that the Tacoma Pierce County Black Collective wanted to know how I, as a candidate for Clover Park School Board, would address one of the Black Collective’s objectives, that of improving the educational outcomes of Black students. […]
Letter: Whether The Community Or The Classroom, Revitalization Is The Same
When my first grandson was in first grade at Tillicum Elementary School, his father and I walked into that classroom – with the permission of then Principal Taj Jensen – and asked how many would like to play baseball. Every hand that went up belonged to a child who was then on the team. That […]