In memory of Corion, a favorite SideWalk Chalk student who passed away July 10, 2011,
and for all of the kids who still get to be a part of our lives today.

When does a little bit of corruption justify a whole lot of good?
Greg Mortenson’s Three Cups of Tea has been on my reading list (and on my shelf) for almost two years.
And now Jon Krakauer has published an e-book, Three Cups of Deceit that you can read on byliner.com. It’s free to download until tomorrow.
I finished reading it, and if Krakauer’s investigation is correct, it’s disheartening to all of us that work in the education realm of non-profits.
I’m slightly ashamed of myself that I put off reading what is supposedly …

My friend Bradley’s heart stopped while he was playing basketball a few weeks ago. I’ve wanted to say something about it, but I haven’t known what.

The last time I saw him was over six months ago, outside a coffee shop in Charleston. As usual, he and his wife were nothing but encouraging. He was that way with everybody- the outpouring of love that has come in the last two weeks from Copenhagen, Mumbai, Stavanger, Bristol, Charleston, and a handful of other cities around the world are the evidence. I think about him a lot now when I’m driving to and from work.

The second time SideWalk went into a 4th grade classroom to lead a writing workshop we were early. The guidance counselor was reading a story to the kids, all crowded on the reading carpet in the front of the room. Our six volunteers sat with them. The story was about a young boy, his mother, and younger sister who were moving to a motel to escape an abusive father. None of the children were shocked.
“What should the mother do?” the guidance counselor asked.
The girl …

The second time SideWalk went into a 4th grade classroom to lead a writing workshop we were early. The guidance counselor was reading a story to the kids, all crowded on the reading carpet in the front of the room. Our six volunteers sat with them. The story was about a young boy, his mother, and younger sister who were moving to a motel to escape an abusive father. None of the children were shocked.
“What should the mother do?” the guidance counselor asked.
The girl …