What does it mean to retire besides leaving your job? What do you do when you don’t have to do anything?

What is critical thinking? One element of critical thinking that most everyone agrees on is “higher order thinking,” which includes evaluating the appropriateness of evidence, the truth of propositions, and the soundness of arguments. But is this enough?

“As a child, I dreamed of being an adventurer.”

“Is wearing a tie a superficial act, a remnant of classist symbolism—or something else?”

How do you write well? On the surface, it seems writing is about language, which to a large extent it is. But from my point of view, it really is about the mind and body that writes. It is about being truthful and real.

By shifting attention to what was there in my own mind and body, and being open to it, my mind became the state of openness. The result was both calm and insight.

As the inauguration nears, or as any feared event draws near, what do you do?

Fighting the ideas of Mr. Trump

How would you define “compassionate critical thinking,” and how did you use it in the classroom?

Retired teacher Ira Rabois clearly loved being in the classroom, learning from his students as he taught. For 27 years, he taught English and history, as well as psychology, karate and drama at the Lehman Alternative Community School. A long-time student of meditation, he began teaching mindfulness practices to his students as well.