On May 31st I took a flight from Toronto to Beijing, China. After 13 hours direct flight and another 3 hours transfer plus 4 hours waiting time, I was finally welcomed by the cool, light and fresh air in Shenzhen.…
Several weeks ago I had the pleasure of being a volunteer judge for the Kingston Regional Heritage Fair. It was such an inspiring experience to listen to young students from a range of grades passionately discuss their historical topics at…
Without a doubt, we live very busy lives. Our calendars are filled with meetings, our to-do lists contain never-ending tasks, and we can’t seem to keep up with our commitments. Our lives are stressful. And sometimes, the stress takes the…
Have you ever experienced a writing block? Last February, I attended a special lecture by Visiting Professor Deborah Britzman. Professor Britzman holds the York Research Chair in Pedagogy and Psycho-Social Transformation. Her lecture was on a topic that is close…
Over one night, a neighbor’s Magnolia tree has dressed its yard with full pink flower clusters, proudly blooming on the branches and turning the bleak winter palette into a vibrant tableau. The mind and body cheerfully flee from a cryptic…
It’s beginning to feel more like spring! Exams are done, and hopefully all the marking you have had to do is finished as well. For those of you sticking around in Kingston summer, I’m sure you’ve already noticed the libraries…
How do you frame your scholarship? Do you have a metaphor for how you approach your thesis or dissertation? In her book Write No Matter What: Advice for Academics, Joli Jensen extols the benefits of craftsmanship as a metaphor or…
Burnout. The one word that frightens me to my bones. I have never thought that I would be a victim of burnout. I strongly believed that if I enjoyed my work, personal and social life, and maintain a healthy body…
To be in school and to feel like a real adult are not mutually exclusive. We use to think school as an ivory tower bonds our vision and experience in a pure academic environment that filled with passion of exploration…
In Luke Burn’s 2010 article entitled “The ‘Snake Fight’ Portion of Your Thesis Defense”, he describes the battle that all successful PhD students must go through. In case you didn’t know, university guidelines require PhDs to defeat a snake. These…
