I was 25 years old, engaged to be married. Fallen off the graduate degree track, I’d left academia behind with a master’s degree and, amazingly, no college debt. Only a few years earlier, I had been convinced to pursue a Ph.D. in history and become a professor. History, or at least certain fields within history, remain a passion to this day. During my senior year, one professor after another counseled me to find another use for my pending history degree. My strong academic inclinations and track record were not sufficient to justify the politics of higher education, the exceedingly tight job market or the long wait it would take to get there. If you can’t teach college students, I thought, why not try high school? My brief stint in … [Read more...]

Image Source: Pixabay Anyone who remembers life before smartphones knows that there’s a life outside of them. Generation Z, on the other hand, is the first group of people growing up in a world where this technology never wasn’t. It should come as no surprise to find out that our kids are spending way too much time on their phones. It’s critical that we make an effort to understand exactly what it is that keeps the younger generation glued to their screens and consider what we can do to help them understand and experience life outside of technology. After all, if moms and dads already struggle to turn that screen off, how much harder is it to expect kids to do so? How Too Much Phone Time Is Hurting Our Kids There’s no doubt … [Read more...]

Image Source: Unsplash Picture getting behind the wheel of your new car, putting your destination into your GPS, and then taking a nap as your vehicle safely transports you there. Driverless vehicles have been featured in movies for some time now, but seeing them on our roads is completely different. While self-driving technology sounds convenient, it’s not yet a foolproof alternative to human drivers. The safety of self-driving cars is hotly debated. The technology used in self-driving cars is thought of as being less prone to error than a human operator, which would make them safer than a traditional car. On the other hand, there have already been reported accidents with self-driving cars. This raises some questions: Are autonomous … [Read more...]

Image Source: Pixabay As parents, we have the tendency to put our families first and set our own needs aside. However, if we’re not healthy, our whole family suffers. Just like our cars require certain types of maintenance at different points throughout their existence, so do our bodies. By taking preventative measures and establishing healthy habits, we can hope to live long and healthy lives. 1. Schedule Doctor Visits Making and keeping regularly scheduled doctors appointments is a helpful method for staying on top of your personal healthcare. Aging eyes, bones, and bodies are a part of growing older and require our attention to prevent degradation. Don’t skip out on any additional testing offered by your optometrist or … [Read more...]

Image Source: Pixabay Football is America’s sport. And yet, its future is in question. While the fact that a little over 1 million high schoolers participated in football leagues during the 2014-2015 season sounds good on the surface, when one steps back and observes the trends, it turns out that the number has been trending downwards in recent years. Some kids are trying different sports, while others are avoiding competitive athletics entirely because of the dangers of injury. However, allowing our sons to skip out on sports, and football in particular, can actually have quite a few negative side effects, in many ways throwing out the baby with the bathwater. If you’re a father and you’ve got a young’un growing up in the household, … [Read more...]

With marijuana use becoming legal in several states, you may be tempted to think of it as harmless. However, it’s not a harmless drug and is indeed dangerous, particularly when combined with driving. Just as it’s illegal to drink alcohol and drive, so is it illegal to use marijuana and drive. The truth is that marijuana has negative effects on drivers. It has caused accidents and ruined many lives. This article will look at what those dangers are, including some statistics, and explore how we can educate children about the dangers of marijuana use. Dangers of Drugged Driving The dangers of drugged driving should be obvious. However, even though awareness of the problem is increasing, we should still brace ourselves for a drastic … [Read more...]

The Christmastime winter months are some of the most wholesome and merry times of year. Even after the holidays are done, the cold and snowy days that follow create the perfect twinkly, light atmosphere to go on bundled up walks with the family, Christmas caroling with friends or simply staying inside to read scripture and drink hot chocolate and eggnog. January is one of the best months to do this because the end-of-year stress is gone and you can simply focus on spending time with your family and strengthening your familial bond. The connection you share with your family is one of the most important ones in your life, and if you don’t regularly dedicate time to your kids, parents or siblings, you should make an effort to rekindle that … [Read more...]

Even in the midst of the #MeToo movement, college campuses across the country continue to see an increase in the number of sexual assaults, with a surge happening from the start of the fall semester until Thanksgiving break — otherwise known as the “red zone.” It’s not exactly clear if the increase in reports is because there are more assaults happening or more assaults are actually being reported, nor does the rise in reports confirm an epidemic, even in the face of high-profile cases. However, the behavior of men is being scrutinized more as a result of the #MeToo movement, and the stigma of speaking up about cases of sexual assault is easing up. There are positive impacts taking place for both current and past generations. Is this … [Read more...]