Tag Archives: learning

Teach Them How to Think: What Schools Should Really Teach

Posted on August 9, 2026 by Douglas Blaine

If I could add one thing to what schools teach, it wouldn’t be another subject. I’d spend more time teaching students how to think, question evidence, listen carefully and admit when they’re wrong. Continue reading →

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Basic Computer Skills Shouldn’t Require Post-it Notes

Posted on August 1, 2026 by Douglas Blaine

Basic computer skills have always seemed simple to me—until someone starts writing down every mouse click on a Post-it note. Sometimes the biggest obstacle is deciding in advance that technology will be hard. Continue reading →

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Yes, I’m a Lifelong Learner. No, That Wasn’t a Good Question.

Posted on July 12, 2026 by Douglas Blaine

Are you a lifelong learner? Yes. Next question. But the better answer is that lifelong learning means staying teachable, humble, curious, and willing to keep growing through faith, writing, teaching, marriage, mistakes, and life itself. Continue reading →

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How do you stay motivated when learning something new?

Posted on May 17, 2026 by Douglas Blaine

Some people stay motivated by patience and discipline. I usually need a goal, a deadline and maybe just enough doubt from someone else to make me charge. Continue reading →

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The Teachers Who Built Me

Posted on March 22, 2026 by Douglas Blaine

Some teachers taught subjects. Others taught discipline, trust, creativity, faith, or endurance. Looking back, the most honest answer is that it took several people — each arriving at the right time — to help shape who I became. Continue reading →

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The Last Thing I Learned

Posted on March 7, 2026 by Douglas Blaine

WordPress asks another one of its famously broad daily questions: “What’s the last thing you learned?” The answers range from classroom revelations to a television installation and a 1970s automotive scandal. Continue reading →

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One-Day Life University (Asterisk Required)

Posted on January 11, 2026 by Douglas Blaine

What if there were a place where life’s most common mistakes were taught in advance—by people who made them first? No degrees, no credits, no mascot. Just hard-earned wisdom, a sense of humor, and an asterisk doing a lot of legal work. Continue reading →

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From Maycomb to Mount Olympus to Old Kentucky: What I’m Reading Now

Posted on November 15, 2025 by Douglas Blaine

I’m reading three books right now—two with my students and one just for myself. My 8th graders are deep in To Kill a Mockingbird, my 9th graders are journeying through The Odyssey, and at home I’m finally returning to The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come, a book my mother once read aloud to me as a child. Each of these stories is speaking to me in a different way this season. Continue reading →

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Forever a Student: The Topics I Still Want to Learn

Posted on September 19, 2025 by Douglas Blaine

Honestly, I could make a long list here. My curiosity doesn’t really know how to sit still. For starters, I’m a teacher, so I always want to know more about the world my students are stepping into. How the news … Continue reading →

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The Space Between My Thoughts

Posted on August 31, 2025 by Douglas Blaine

Sometimes I write because I have something to say. Other times, I write because something inside me needs to breathe — and a pour of good bourbon doesn’t always cut it. I blog because my thoughts need somewhere to land. … Continue reading →

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