Photographs and stories by Jim Grey

Since 2007

Tag: school

Summer’s denouement

A story of autumn’s coming, in 1970s Indiana.

6 September 2021
single frame: Tug of war at Field Day

Tug of war on school grounds.

16 March 2021
U.S. school desegregation, bullying, unrest, and violence, in the 1970s

A remembrance of school racial integration in the mid-1970s.

15 January 2020
Seven things I want my sons to know about making their way

Advice I gave my sons about making their way in the world.

18 July 2018
Dad was always there

A father’s very presence in his child’s life can create lasting security. My dad was a hard man and he left me with some issues I had to work out as an adult — but his steady presence in my life has always served me well.

14 March 2018
Why I stay on Facebook even though I don’t enjoy it much

I’d leave Facebook for good were it not for moments of real joy such as the one this photo, posted there, brought.

12 March 2018
Favorite Photos Week: Happy student, Piedras Negras, Coahuila

This young fellow is a teenager now. But when I visited his school near Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico, nine years ago, he was this lively, happy boy. I speak very little Spanish. I can ask where the bathroom is, I can order a beer, I can offer greetings, and I can count to 14. And I…

7 August 2015
Rolling with the transitions

My older son graduated high school on Saturday. It’s a day for which I long have planned, but which, nevertheless, comes with some sadness. I was glad to celebrate this passage with him, though he said he felt much as I did when I graduated high school: “Dad, I’m a good student; was there ever…

8 June 2015
At the foot of the stage

I last stood in the wings of this stage when I was in the sixth grade in 1978. But I didn’t particularly want to be here. I would rather have been singing with the choir at the foot of the stage. As part of a concert, a few of us entered the stage from here…

17 September 2014
The years fly by at warp speed

My youngest son turns 15 today. In case you’re new to the blog, I’m a divorced dad with three sons. My stepson is 28, and my sons still at home are 17 and, now, 15. It turns out that I really enjoy teenagers. For me, these are the best years to be a dad! It’s…

23 April 2014
Seven things I want my sons to know about making their way

Now that you’re both teenagers, my job as your dad is changing. When you were little, my job was more about teaching you some basics, keeping you safe, and showing you love. Now it’s about slowly letting go and coaching from the sidelines so you can go in your own direction and hopefully find success…

18 February 2013
Imaginary numbers with real consequences

My college degree is in mathematics. (Please withhold the math-major jokes in the comments; I’ve heard them all!) During senior year, math majors had to take a class called Functions of an Imaginary Variable. Yes, imaginary! That’s what mathematicians call numbers that, when squared, are negative. If you remember anything about the fourth grade, you…

8 February 2013