Responding to Horror
How does any ordinary citizen respond to endless shootings? Blacks and Latinos in minority neighborhoods, police working in our streets,...
top of page
Welcome to the Education with Grandma Blog
Below you will find essays, articles and posts. To read about a specific topic, click on one of the links below and scroll down.
Barbara Frandsen
Jul 17, 2022
Reject Hate: Love Police AND Blacks
The chasm between police and Black Americans deepened. Suspicions intensified. Ultimately, Americans watched three days of living horror....
Barbara Frandsen
Jul 16, 2022
Rejecting Racial Cruelty
Within the last forty-eight hours, two gunfire eruptions have ripped the fabric of our nation. To those who continually preach hatred and...
Barbara Frandsen
Jul 16, 2022
Halt! Border Patrol Here
“Oh NO! They’re swarming Grandpa,” shouted Dalton. Similar to workers streaming out of a disturbed anthill, border patrol poured out of a...
Barbara Frandsen
Jul 16, 2022
Generating Unacceptable Price Tags with Frenzied Hate
Who doesn’t wonder, “Does my life make a difference?” Everyone wants to leave a mark on the world. I imagine that the young man who...
Barbara Frandsen
Jul 16, 2022
Take Advantage of Prison Reforms to Save At Risk Students
The United States would truly be worthy of worldwide acclaim if our nation could boast of increased and improved schools simultaneously...
Barbara Frandsen
Jul 16, 2022
Does Living in Fear Help Keep Us Safe?
In 1933, in his inaugural address, Franklin D. Roosevelt declared, “So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we...
Barbara Frandsen
Jul 14, 2022
Marching Into the Gates of Hell or Seeking Love
Although I support responsible gun ownership, stockpiling weapons for the purpose of defending one’s home and family seems like a poorly...
Barbara Frandsen
Jun 26, 2022
Let’s Get Real About Preventing Abortions
Recently, my husband and I had an opportunity to listen to words of wisdom from Olympia Snowe, former Republican from Maine. Before...
Barbara Frandsen
Jun 26, 2022
Wake Up and Recognize a Greater Truth
What a challenge waking up to truth presents. How much more comforting to be lulled asleep by the incessant beat of popular cadences. Our...
Barbara Frandsen
Jun 26, 2022
Pope Francis Amazes and Inspires — or He Horrifies and Frightens
Whether you like Pope Francis or not, you must admit, the man speaks and lives in ways that change people’s hearts and minds. In doing...
Barbara Frandsen
Jun 26, 2022
What Do We Owe Public Education?
When we allow fear to drive our decisions, we get fearful results. I have lived in this state all of my 75 years. Until the last decade,...
Barbara Frandsen
Jun 26, 2022
Life Happens: Take Back Your Strength
I write this for one of my grandchildren. As much as I want to “fix” all problems, I cannot. Not only is fixing life impossible, but I...
Barbara Frandsen
Jun 26, 2022
Breaking the Law: Honorable or Liable?
When a small Catholic university interviewed me years ago, the president asked if I could commit to their mission statement. After...
Barbara Frandsen
Jun 26, 2022
To Test or Not to Test?
I am a retired teacher/grandmother and I grieve for all children who suffer because of standardized tests. If you parent a child who...
Barbara Frandsen
Jun 25, 2022
How Much Damage Can Test Importance Cause?
I confess that as a retired educator, I oppose high-stakes tests. Not tests in general. Not even standardized tests. Testing should play...
Barbara Frandsen
Jun 25, 2022
Are We Stuck in Stereotypical Thinking?
The summer my son was six years old, our white church invited a black congregation to participate in a joint Vacation Bible School. It...
Barbara Frandsen
Jun 25, 2022
Teach the Facts — Just the Facts
In a system where facts seem like beliefs and beliefs act like facts, I fear for the education of our children and grandchildren. I...
Barbara Frandsen
Jun 25, 2022
What Are the Rights of Undocumented Mothers?
“You’ve got to be kidding!” ~ Once again, Texas refuses to comply with federal law. This particular issue involves a refusal to provide...
Barbara Frandsen
Jun 25, 2022
When Will All Americans Be Free?
“Reap what you sow” (Galatians 6: 7-8). “Do unto others as you would have them do unto to you” (Matthew 7: 12). If whites fear angry...
bottom of page