Category
Education
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12.01.08Your Most Valuable Asset (Education)Your Most Valuable Asset © 2008 Brooke Allen brooke@brookeallen.net www.BrookeAllen.net Originally published in International Family Magazine My mother was born in West Virginia and that made her an American citizen by birth. Her father was a naturalized German-American, and her mother was a native Italian. Her parents decided to raise her in Florence, Italy. When it became clear that the Fascists were going down a path of no return, my mother and her father decided they had to get out of Italy. They flew to Lisbon on the last airplane to leave Rome before the airport was shut, and they crossed the Atlantic on ...
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09.01.07Permalink: Mr. RieurMr. Rieur © 2007 Brooke Allen brooke@brookeallen.net www.BrookeAllen.net Originally published in International Family Magazine You most want to be like the person you most admire. That is why, ever since 1963 when I had Mr. Rieur for the sixth grade I have wanted to be a teacher. His classroom was unlike any other I’d seen before; across the inner wall were terrariums and fish tanks. In the back was a cabinet with his lab equipment and chemical supplies. The ledge by the window was lined with books. He taught geography with slides and stories of his adventures visiting the places in our syllabus. We saw ...
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04.01.07Permalink: College ThinkingCollege Thinking © 2007 Brooke Allen brooke@brookeallen.net www.BrookeAllen.net Originally published in International Family Magazine Colleges have become marketing experts. They work very hard at convincing you to send them your child and your money. You have to do the work yourself to find out why you shouldn’t send them either. “Admissions.” “Hello, is this (name of a liberal arts college in the Midwest)?”[1] “Yes it is.” “Are you an admissions officer?” “Yes I am.” “I am calling regarding my son. He has been admitted to your institution and he’s trying to decide if he wants to go. He isn’t here now so do you mind if I record this ...
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11.01.06Tricky EconomicsTricky Economics © 2006 Brooke Allen brooke@brookeallen.net www.BrookeAllen.net Originally published in International Family Magazine We once attended a "Tricky Tray" fundraiser. It offered some excellent economics lessons. If you haven’t experienced one of these is, I'll explain. "Tricky" means what you expect and "Tray" comes from both the French word "très", which means "very", and the Spanish "tres" which means "three". A Tricky Tray is a very tricky device for separating you from your money three ways. 1) You pay $40 for a meal worth about $7.49. 2) You donate a prize that is supposed to cost about $20 but since it will bear you name, and ...
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09.01.06Everyone Knows Father MoranEveryone Knows Father Moran © 2006 Brooke Allen brooke@brookeallen.net www.BrookeAllen.net Originally published in International Family Magazine As a young amateur radio operator (ham call sign: N2BA), one of the more interesting people I spoke with on short-wave was Father Moran (ham call sign: 9N1MM). He was born in Chicago in 1906. In 1929 he moved to India. In 1949 he made his first trip to Nepal, which had just opened its borders to foreigners. In 1951 he established a boy's school a short distance outside of Katmandu and later he was instrumental in setting up additional schools for both boys and girls. For many ...
