Last March I interviewed and profiled Emily Kimball, The Aging Adventurer, in The Erickson Tribune. Now I receive her monthly newsletter in which I always find something interesting or relevant to the Tribune. This month, I found one item particularly insightful when I thought about the local pages of the Trib and Erickson Retirement Communities’ product in general. Here is the item, to which I give credit to Ms. Kimball. Her website is www.theagingadventurer.com, and I strongly encourage you to check it out. Read the rest of this entry »

Even as the daughter of a public high school teacher, I never thought about how attached teachers can become to their students. They plow through what, 30 to 90 students a year, depending on the size and organization of the school? And that’s not even including students who aren’t in their classrooms–the ones they meet in the halls. I never thought about how much teachers care about their students–from their grades to their wellbeing. I never thought about how much time they give to preparing their students for life.

I never though about it until I met Kristin Taylor, D.C.’s sixth grade language arts teacher at Booker T. Washington Middle School, in Baltimore, Md.

Taylor is a second-year  teacher. I’ve visited her three times in the classroom after we met at NorthBay last April. We stay in touch via e-mail and have become, in a way, friends. I just received a downer of an e-mail from her regarding D.C. She says he hasn’t been attending school very often, and she’s very worried about him. She also said that because of his bad behavior, school officials want him out–for good. Part of me feels like actions have consequences, and D.C. has had several chances to turn his life around. But Taylor has given her all to this kid, and she fought for him. She met with D.C. and the school’s guidance counselor. He told them that if he changed schools, he would probably drop out all together. So the counselor agreed to keep him at Booker T.

I don’t know what’s going to happen with D.C.; his life seems like a never-ending story with unexpected twists and turns every time I hear from Taylor. But I do know that she is going to continue giving everything she has to save him. That’s the kind of teacher she is–one who cares and believes in her kids.

 I have been so impressed by her strong will and teaching ethics, that I profiled her for the final installment of the series on NorthBay. She believes that NorthBay’s program and natural, rural environment can help her city students. And I think that NorthBay thrives on the support of teachers like her.

Be sure to read the final article in the January 2008 Tribune.

If any of you have been following my series on NorthBay, the summer camp and environmental education center in North East, Md., you can find links to all of the articles here:

Part One: Northbay gets positive response from teachers and students alike

Part Two: Helping turn troubled teens into tomorrow’s leaders

Part Three: Nature teaches valuable lessons to model students and troubled kids

Part Four: Follow up program ‘keeps it real’ for past campers

Part Five: Educator strives to steer student from gang life

Part Six: Student struggles to escape the futility of gang life

Bowling and retirement rise to a new level

Every now and then, if you are lucky, you see a peek into true creativity. One of the joys of my job is that I get to see that creativity more than most people because of Erickson Retirement Community’s amazingly talented residents and staff.

If you watch this

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Warning: If you are not interested in media trends and seniors’ reading habits, today’s blog isn’t for you.

The Simmons Market Research Bureau, the industry gold standard for researching and surveying newspapers, recently conducted a study among the recipients of The Erickson Tribune. Here are some of their findings: Read the rest of this entry »

You know when you have experiences in your life that are so timely it’s surreal? I had one yesterday. I went to photograph the antiques at a woman’s home at Charlestown. Afterwards she asked me to sit and chat for a while. I don’t know how we got on the subject, but she started telling me about her life and her outlook on it. Read the rest of this entry »

I can’t stress enough how many great people I keep meeting who live at Erickson communities like Charlestown. They introduce me to things some people may take for granted but that I have never experienced–golfing, for example.

In all honesty, I always thought golf was a pretty boring sport. But, wow, was I wrong! Read the rest of this entry »

I was supposed to go to NorthBay this past Tuesday. The camp awarded D.C. a scholarship to return to the summer program and he was scheduled for this week. I planned to follow him around at camp, observing his experience, and return home to write about it.

But Monday afternoon I received a phone call from NorthBay. D.C. never showed up. Read the rest of this entry »

Last week I was in a slump. Outside the sun shone, but a fog fell over my head. That is, until I met Shirley Costello at Charlestown in Catonsville, Md.

I had gone to the community to photograph someone meditating in the Our Lady of the Angels Chapel for an article on the Erickson Health Quest. Shirley raised her hand to the task, and we walked to the chapel after her workout in the fitness center. We chatted along the way, exchanging small talk. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been writing a series in The Erickson Tribune on NorthBay, an outdoor adventure camp and environmental center in North East, Md., located at the top of the Chesapeake Bay. It’s been an amazing and eye-opening experience for me. Not just because I get to escape from the office to the breathtaking beauty of NorthBay’s waterfront campus (and climb the ropes course!), but also because I’ve met amazing kids who have experienced life in a way I never could imagine. Read the rest of this entry »