Why this particular year? With all its ends and its beginnings; its joys and its sorrows; its dashed hopes and dreams for new tomorrows? It is a poem, a blessing by Irish poet John O'Donohue, 'At the End of the Day: A Mirror of Questions'. And a variation on it ended...
A year ago I kissed my father at the door and took his blessing. While my plane crossed the Atlantic, he crossed from this world to the next. Transitions You may have noticed that I have written much about transitions and change this year. It is a subject that I thought I...
Its time to rebrand soft skills. It is all over the press. In a skills based economy, the few that are able to augment their strong knowledge or IQ skills with a strong and healthy dose of EQ or soft skills are the ones who will benefit the most. But I have...
I stood silently in the gathering dusk, staring at a myriad points of lights stretching as far as I could see. They filled the giant moat of the Tower of London. Each light had been lit by hand at sunset, commemorating the life of a soldier lost to battle in...
Strategies to help students succeed 'We surveyed a number of students - some who had made a better transition as they entered their second year, others less so. And every content junior undergraduate used the same four letter word while describing their first year experience. It didn't come up in the...
"But what should my child study?" The theme was: "IMAGINING POSSIBILITIES, INSPIRING SUCCESS". The event was Halton District School Board's 11th annual Parent Conference. I presented a series of workshops on 'GenZ and The Future of Work'. The focus was on how we prepare our youth; how we encourage the skills...
For me, it was empty chairs and empty tables. And the fridge full of food. Empty chairs That was the moment it hit home that things are no longer the same. And I have to find my new normal. But right now, I am caught 'in-between'. Like so many other parents across North America...
One can almost sense the anticipation: the excitement, the rapid heartbeat, the held breathe; opening the acceptance letter marked Juilliard. There was a whole lifetime of practice, preparation and hope frozen in that one minute as William and his parents waited to see what his future would hold. I marked July...
Follow me. Run! I will always remember the evening of the two sunsets. We'd walked up the hill near our home to our favourite spot and nestled on a rock. He made space for all of us on his lap and within his arms. Together, we watched as the sun set slowly...
This is my first Father's Day without my Dad. A time of deep loss, transition, and profound re-adjustment. Dad taught me my ABCs From my Dad, I learned my ABCs. First the normal ones - the building blocks of words. Then the ones that take you through life. Because the legacy that my...