MLK Day
I was a young child in the 1960s but I still remember the stress that year brought to my family. In the tragic year of 1968, I was seven years old, and while Laugh-In was the rage on TV with my friends when it debuted in January, the Vietnam War was heating up and the Civil Rights [...]
Quick Podcasting Using AudioBoo
In my never ending quest to find new ways to communicate to the public, I stumbled upon Audioboo about a year ago. It’s a very simple audio podcasting service which, like most new apps these days, has a social media element to it as well. I began using it to record the “Harold Martin Minute” last year and [...]
Keeping Balanced in the New Year
The difficulty in keeping one’s life in balance is related in large part to the type of life we lead in America. Industriousness is rewarded in our society and at times busyness can become an addiction. Yet, balance is not reached by simply paring down our activity, it’s selecting those activities that sustain our spirit [...]
Tech Thoughts on Christmas Eve
Random posts like this are easy to write. I’m not sure my high school English teacher would approve of the bullet format but… The iPad is becoming an enormous tool for me. Tonight, I’ll lead the band at my church using the iPad as my only tool for reading music. In fact, many members of [...]
Gadget Fever
My gadget world is complete. I now possess the tech troika of a MacBook Pro, an iPad, and an iPhone. The laptop belongs to the Hopkinton, NH School district, the iPad was a present for my 50th from my family, and the iPhone…well, it’s a early Christmas present. This love of technology comes my way genetically, [...]
Giving Thanks
I do love Thanksgiving. It’s one of those holidays when families can get together under a simple premise that we give thanks. There’s no need to exchange gifts and few expectations beyond a properly cooked turkey and a large enough TV to watch the football games. Those of us with full time jobs are thankful [...]
How Can Soulful Leadership and Teaching Continue?
My former Superintendent Dick Ayers used to say, “Teaching is a contact sport”. As his central office career closed, he was witnessing the movement toward inanimate technology substituting for educators. A number of New Hampshire School Boards have advocated for decreasing school budgets by cutting teachers and increasing online opportunities. This weekend the Wall Street [...]
The Lens of Leadership
I regularly view the world through a lens of leadership. In the sports arena I observe coaches and general managers, evaluating their decisions and styles. In the political world, I ask, “Are the candidates getting their message out? Are they able to rally and inspire their staff to implement the leader’s vision?” In the business [...]
Building Social Capital
In my first year of college in 1979, I was introduced to Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America, a multi-volume classic written from the pen of a French man examining the wonders of representative democracy in 1830‘s United States. I was impressed by de Tocqueville’s observations of an America filled with active citizens, ready to [...]
Following Your Intuition
I was bothered by Steve’s death more than I thought I would be. I have been an Apple user for so long that my entire educational career has been influenced in part by the company and its products. I started using Apples/Macs in 1984 at the start of my teaching career. The old Apple IIe [...]
