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A Room In My Heart
For your 12th birthday, daughter I couldn’t say how much you mean to me, How you came to us, filled with glee, Beginning with joy right from the start, Owning the largest of rooms in my heart. Now your mind is so filled with friends; An enlarged childhood stretched at the ends. Your peers are Continue reading
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For Your 42nd Birthday
When children are babies it’s easy to feel needed; We had reached for each other and the kids had pleaded. But as the grey lies about the wisdom we’ve gained, Sometimes still the wind blows and the clouds fill with rain. Yet, when you are around, life emerges through pain. Then the sun breaks through, Continue reading
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New Podcast: Dialogue Maintenance
I was trying to demonstrate pen-ended questions in a live conversation moment, where we just tried to practice dialogue maintenance. On the way, we discussed personal examples of meaningful work, the prison of moving to a wealthy country, and the artistic spark and play that so many people have. How did I do? In comparison, Continue reading
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95% Authentic: “Be true to yourself,” whatever that means.
For most middle-class people, things are pretty good. We may be dissatisfied with the state of the world, but our personal lives are fairly in order. We have loving people around us; we belong to a fairly stable community composed of a stable job, workmates or church people who are harmless and generally beneficial. We Continue reading
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Value of “Work”
Amid the seeming disorder – the uncertainty and fear, a silent revolution is happening during the corona crisis: a revolution in the way we assess work. The drumming and clapping for health care workers, the public praise for those who stack supermarket shelves – all of this suddenly appears natural to us. And our applause Continue reading
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ESL Podcast: Adjectives of States and Descriptions, and Open-ended Questions
In this video, Dr. Oleks and I discuss the purposes of open-ended and closed questions in an interview. We also discuss the grammatical differences in we express feelings vs describing that which cause the feeling. Continue reading
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To Share a Joy
Today I wanted to share a joy, a dream I had when I was a boy. of being valued and receiving care, of embracing love, of breathing air. But I opened up my social apps, typed away, this humble chap. I longed to reach and touch a friend, but closed my laptop in the end. Continue reading
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The Sickness Beyond the Infection: Social Structures and Work
Part 4 Beyond essential services, has anyone, ANYONE, complained about working from home? I am an instructor, and other than not seeing my students, and missing the occasional conversation near my office with a colleague, I could not imagine how freeing working from home could be. I have become WAY more productive. Probably, this has Continue reading
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Culture Shock, Poetry and Consciousness
Stay tuned to the whole story. What is better for adapting to a new culture, getting thrown in the deep end and you sink or swim? Or slowly tearing off the band-aid? Do you know the meaning of “acquiesce”? Give in, and watch till the end. It’ll “blow your mind”. Continue reading
About me: I am a career educator and traveler at heart. My written work includes academic writing in philosophy and linguistics, English acquisition, and most intently in the areas of spiritual engagement with reality and what that means for our public lives.
My education is a mixture of formal study in philosophy, political theory, Biblical studies, and history, along with professional teaching certification in TESOL and in cognitive testing, and international teaching.
My travel experiences include a range of countries in Asia, Europe, Africa and North America. I have lived in Canada, the United States, Germany, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Thailand. From those places I have traveled to many others besides.
I am a child of the 70’s and a “family man.” That means I have two wonderful kids who have been round the world with me.
Lastly, I am married to a wonderful woman since 2004. She is my partner, my friend, and my muse.
Thanks again for stopping by,
Raymond Klassen - Ideals and Identities 