A Sense for Humor

When I teach courses I typically start with something my students don’t expect. I force them to scream in unison, do a funny dance, throw hundreds of paper airplanes my direction at the same time. These strange beginnings tend to reenforce a message I want to send to them: this can be fun. My message of fun is typically backed up by experience. Sure, there will be students who won’t have fun. There always are. The vast majority of students will enjoy the courses I teach because I teach art. I know, I see some of you raising your hands … Continue reading

Seating Charts & Place Cards for Holiday Meals?

We usually keep things pretty casual around here even during the holidays. Our gatherings tend to be somewhat small since we have family all across the country, but not very many family members living nearby. I still like things to be nice of course, and every once in a while I get the urge to add a little more formality. This has worked out well, since people know I like to add a few flourishes here and there, so they weren’t surprised that I developed a seating chart and made place cards at the last get-together. To be quite honest, … Continue reading