Making It Real With Historical Fiction
Historical fiction can bring history to life in ways non-fiction does not.
Leonardo da Vinci Would Have Loved Contact Lenses
Leonardo actually tried to invent contact lenses. What he tried didn’t work, but he kept thinking, kept learning, and he keeps amazing us today.
How History Changes
It’s true we can’t change the past. But history changes all the time. And what happened may not be what we think.
The Sweat of Positive People
Let 'em see you sweat. Better still, let 'em smell you.
School Diversity: A Continuing Education
This is part three of a series about whether diversity in schools is good for white kids. I spoke mostly with two experts: my kids, who went to public schools with diverse populations, grades 1-12
Mixed Memories
Is school diversity good for white kids? My white children learned some valuable lessons in public schools with widely diverse students. Their memories are mixed--some treasured, some painful. What they learned is helping them enjoy and prosper in today's United States. Part 2 of a series.
Is School Diversity Good for White Kids?
Parents protect their children, always wary in the face of actual danger and possible harm. A major barrier to greater school diversity, to real integration of public schools, has been the fear of white parents that such diversity would harm the education of their children. Does it? Or is it good for them? I consulted a couple of experts: my kids.
We Can’t Blame It All on the South
Many Americans seem to think that the vicious racism that has stained our history all happened in the South, the states of the old Confederacy. Not so. Not even close.
Being Alone
We find joy and replenishment in solitude, but despair in loneliness, and terror in solitary confinement. What is it about being alone that makes those feelings more intense?
A Woman’s Heroic Journey
When we talk about the heroic journey of myth and story, we’re usually talking about a man’s adventures. A woman’s heroic journey often starts in different circumstances, and it ends differently. And it can be harder to write in historical fiction.