One day I was sitting innocently in my 7th grade English classroom, doing my work, when a woman came into the room, dressed in such a manner that I was forced to deduce that she was clinically insane. She wore a wide green hat that resembled a pancake, a short white cape and voluminous dark green trousers. Tights and black … Read More
The Common Sense of my Grandmother
I have found myself thinking lately of the house my grandparents lived in when I was young, She always said it was a happy house…..as though it was the house itself that created the happiness, but the truth of it is……It was my grandmother. Today I wanted to share some of the wisdom I have gained from her stories, and … Read More
Opportunities
To me, learning is an active experience. Something you do that teaches you a brand new life lesson. It’s extremely hard to learn without actually having a reason why or how. That reason came to me many years ago, and I got 50 bucks out of the blue! Who wouldn’t want that? There I am, sitting in class one day … Read More
My Learning Experiences
My high school years were a time when I had many learning experiences. Most of my learning experiences took place outside of school. One day me and my friends all went to my friend’s house for his birthday party to have a good time and celebrate his birthday. There is a park next to his house and we decided to … Read More
Digging For Education
I remember once when I was little, trying to dig a hole in the yard deep enough to stand in and look around me at ground-level. Silly and odd, I know. But I wanted to. So I started digging and soon I did have a pretty deep hole, but I was tired and my muscles had begun hurting so I … Read More
Why Go to School?
On top of a 1,000 pound animal is where I learn the best. Racing towards an obstacle with the hopes of jumping over it is the most exhilarating experience I can ever remember. I’ll never forget the first time I fell in love with a horse. Her name was Scripture; she was a 3-year-old goof ball of a Thoroughbred. When … Read More
Feeling Privileged
When I was young I had awful stomach pains periodically. I can first remember them from 3rd grade. I would have a very intense painful fit about once a year, but it only lasted a few hours. This continued on until 6th grade. That year, I started getting the pains during spring break, only this time they didn’t go away! … Read More
Learning Through Chewing
I was running late, once again, to a group therapy session in a tall glass office building near Georgetown in the District of Columbia, and, once again, I hadn’t eaten beforehand. I hopped off my bike, locked it up and hurried through the tall glass doors and up the elevator. I punched in the door code and walked through the … Read More
Literacy is Powerful
My name is Milton Whitley. I am 57 years old and until five years ago, could barely read or write. School was especially hard for me. The teacher used to spank me with a big stick when I didn’t know something. It put fear in my heart and made it hard for me to learn. People called me retarded. I … Read More
It's Harder Than It Looks
I remember praying that I could understand why students could not understand how to multiply. Soon after I was trying to help a student multiply, and I did not know how. I realized why the students were having difficulty.
