I’m No Superstar

I’m No Superstar is a blog for people like me who want to make a difference in the world but know they aren’t activists. Each post contains a social action idea that most of us could do, a book that’s worth reading, or a link to a website that offers other ideas. Oh, and it’s all introduced by a sometimes quirky story from my life.

It’s time to plug the leaks

I love to give to charity. It doesn’t matter if I support the food bank by rounding up my purchase at the grocery store or buy a cart full of groceries to donate, it all feels good. I am happy to support the homeless shelter with by mailing a check or serving a meal. It

A Crowd-Sourced Anti-Racism Reading List

On Sunday, the day after an African-American woman was shot by a white policeman who came to do a welfare check on her, well-known speaker and Bible study leader Beth Moore posted her frustration on Twitter. I responded about the books that recently have made me more aware and also more heartbroken. If you’ve read

Books Open Up Worlds

What is the first book you remember reading? Johnny’s Cookies is the first I remember actively seeking to “read,” the first book I memorized. I continually took it out of our church library. A counting book in which Johnny gives his cookies to various people, it wasn’t profound kids’ lit; but I loved it. At

5 Things Your Local School Needs

Widespread public access to knowledge, like public education, is one of the pillars of our democracy, a guarantee that we can maintain a well-informed citizenry. Scott Turow Public schools perform a vital function in our society, allowing children from any socioeconomic background the opportunity to learn basic facts and skills, to discover new interests and

On Being (and Voting) Fully Pro-Life

I am pro-life. Fully pro-life. Because I am fully pro-life, I want to prevent babies from being killed while still in their mothers’ wombs. Because I am fully pro-life, I want to stop 8600 children from dying today and tomorrow and the day after and the day after that from poverty-related diseases (that’s 3 million

What Grown-Ups Do When the Kids Go Back to School

School started in our area either last week or today (except for the one slacker district that waits until after Labor Day). And the Facebook feeds have been popping. Yeah, yeah, there have certainly been plenty of those darling, awkward, first-day-of-school pics. But there have also been the posts like these (names and photos changed to

Poverty’s Grubby Fingers

Last Monday I quoted our elementary school principal as saying that “the best predictor of if a child will drop out of high school or not, is if they are reading at grade level by third grade.” I want the students I tutor to succeed, so this article by David Sirota’s opinion caught my eye:

The School of Love

I’m in love. Don’t worry; Les is okay with it. See, he is in love too. No, I’m not talking about being in love with each other (although we are, just so no rumors start). About six weeks ago we began volunteering at a local elementary school. During the summer, I went in and talked

 

Have Carol Speak For Your Group

An accomplished and flexible speaker, Carol tailors her topics to fit the theme and timeframes of your meeting, conference, seminar or retreat.