Kicked to the Curb

By Joe Rector Isn’t it wonderful to land that first full time job? The security that comes with a steady paycheck and affordable insurance is life-changing. We start off planning to be the best employees in the organization and want to stay with the company until...

If I knew then what I know now

By Joe Rector I like mowing the yard. Sitting on a riding lawnmower or pushing a mower or trimming with a weed eater is when I do some of my best thinking. I’ve solved some of my own problems and come up with answers to world dilemmas while cutting blades of grass....

Old teachers and technology

By Joe Rector The other day Joe Dooley and I substituted at Hardin Valley Academy. We sat on benches in the foyer, and before long, Rick Collett ambled up. The three of us spent many years together on the faculty at Karns High School. We looked like the old guys that...

Questioning the educational model

By Joe Rector Ah, the return to the classroom brings about both good and bad memories. It recalls some of the same questions I posed so many years ago. I hope I find answers to them before my time on this earth is done. First, I still wonder what is the reason for...

The land is not ours alone

By Joe Rector By the end of the summer, the new subdivision just up the road will be completed. Forty new houses line the streets. To my surprise, two separate tracks bordering the development have been scraped clean of topsoil, and work on phase 2 has begun. The...

Passing the torch

By Joe Rector I began a new job as a substitute teacher at the beginning of the school year. The first couple of days were rough as I reacquainted myself with teenaged students. I’d spent 30 years as a teacher but had been gone from the school setting and the...