Author Archives: Steven Dalager

To a mouse (with whom I battled last night and then again this morning)

  Wee, sleeket, cowran, tim’rous beastie, O, what panic’s in thy breastie! Thou need na start awa sae hasty, Wi’ bickering brattle! I wad be laith to rin an’ chase thee, Wi’ murd’ring pattle! –from “To a Mouse”? Robert Burns … Continue reading

Posted in General Musings, Personal History | 2 Comments

Sabbatical Notes From Underground: Pedagogy of the Oppressed

I first read Paulo Freire 17 years ago in graduate school. What I remember was that Pedagogy was challenging and difficult to apply to an American context, but it also transformed how I saw my relationship to students and clarified … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Engl 1106, Sabbatical | 3 Comments

Leatherheads of the North

Leatherheads is a little piece of local history by Chuck Frederick of the local News Tribune. I saw a promotion at Barnes and Noble a couple of weeks ago, and I had a gift card burning a hole in my … Continue reading

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On a spider turning 18

Kylie turned 18 yesterday. We all woke up this morning and raced through the customary scramble to get to school as though nothing had changed, but something has. I just haven’t figured out exactly how. The cliché regarding this passage, … Continue reading

Posted in General Musings, Personal History | 6 Comments

Forever Lily

  My friend Kathy Fahrion, a great recommender of books, placed this in my hands one day last fall, saying I had to read it. Forever Lilly is Beth Nonte Russell’s memoir of an adoption trip to China, and Kathy, … Continue reading

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Fifteen years of water under the bridge reveals the same river

An offshoot of our Marshallese sojourn last summer was our Hawaiian visit with old friends Dave and Cindy, who we’ve vaguely kept in contact with over the past 15 years. They’re two of the most courageous people that I know. … Continue reading

Posted in Travel | 3 Comments

The Kite Runner

As usual, I’m several years behind the book club curve, but I finally got around to Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner over break. It’s a definite must read in these times. The well drawn characters of Baba and Hassan, and … Continue reading

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Heart of Darkness

Catching up with the classics, and with my daughter and her AP English class, I read Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness over break, too. What can I say, except perhaps, “Oh! The horror!” I remember reading Moby Dick a few … Continue reading

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Farewell to Majuro

Below is some video from our last night on Majuro with Maritha’s family.  We were able to hold a party at our hotel in a Tiki hut called Boknake.  It’s about four minutes long (if you’re gaging whether it’s worth … Continue reading

Posted in Travel | 2 Comments

Pepper, 67

Pepper, 67, Duluth, died Tuesday, December 4, 2007. Born June 2, 1998 in Austin, Minnesota to Chispa, she was our companion for over nine years. It was a complete surprise. Monday, she was fine. Sherry came home from school Tuesday … Continue reading

Posted in General Musings | 4 Comments