PHOTO BY METRO CREATIVE CONNECTION Job stress is enough — but job-hunting stress? That alone can be intimidating and emotionally taxing to your psyche, especially if you’ve graduated or been laid off and months later, you still don’t have any prospects of securing a job. It doesn’t help when financial and family pressures intensify as […]
Special Issues
Posted inSpecial Issues
Social media and your career
PHOTO BY METRO CREATIVE CONNECTION Social media has become an integral part of modern society. Millions of people around the world use social media to connect with one another. But this valuable tool also can be a detriment, particularly if you’re seeking employment. What a person says or does on social media can come back […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
2015 fall calendar
August Let the Words Fall OutAug 24-Sep 27, 11am-6pm Mon-Thu. Interactive installation by Brytton Bjorngaard, UIS assistant professor of digital media and Springfield graphic designer and artist. On display through Sep 17. uis.edu/visualarts/gallery. UIS Visual Arts Gallery, HSB 201, One University Plaza, 206-6506. Route 66 Barbershop QuartetAug 27, 12-1pm Thu. Part of the Springfield […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Get ready for a power play in central Iowa
A working windmill and farm buildings from the 1900s greet visitors to the Living History Farms in Urbandale, Iowa, a suburb of Des Moines. PHOTOS BY BRENT BOHLEN If you are into power trips, you won’t find a better place than central Iowa. While presidential candidates lust for political power as they stomp across the […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Time travel to historic Nauvoo
The exterior of the Nauvoo Temple is a replica of the original temple that was burned and destroyed. Nearby is a sculpture depicting Joseph and Hyrum Smith’s last ride to Carthage. PHOTOS BY JOHN CAMPER A covered wagon pulled by a yoke of oxen appeared on the path in front of us. Nearby several young […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
The stages of fall
ELF The Musical comes to Sangamon Auditorium Nov. 6-7. PHOTO COURTESY SANGAMON AUDITORIUM In an era where we are increasingly isolated by our technology, the ancient tradition of watching live theater still can unite hundreds of people in a shared visceral experience. And fall in Illinois is a great time to throw down a few […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Fall rocks
Sangamon Auditorium is the place to be this fall for those who like to jam. And for those who like to sit quietly too. On Sept. 19, Springfield audiences will be privy to the journey of up and coming opera singers in The Metropolitan Opera Rising Stars. The artists will perform classical arias, duets and […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Conscious discipline
Students routinely practice conflict resolution skills at Aunt Fluffy’s Preschool, which operates on the principles of Conscious Discipline. PHOTO BY DAVID HINE Aunt Fluffy’s Preschool in Springfield is not your ordinary early-learning environment. The students refer to each other as their “school family.” Instead of a timeout zone, there is a Safe Place where children […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Creating family stories
PHOTO FROM METRO CREATIVE CONNECTION When our son was a baby, my husband and I tried to instill in him a love of the written word. At first we would just read to him each day. But when he was able to talk and develop ideas of his own, we started telling and then writing […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Teaching kids about race
PHOTO BY jonathanjonl/Flickr There is no escape from the racial conflicts with which children must cope…avoiding the problem isn’t helpful. Too much parental protection from life’s realities may hamper a child’s later ability to cope with life as it is. –Alvin Poussaint, M.D For 22 years I have worked in the public school system with […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
What’s for lunch at school?
PHOTO FROM METRO CREATIVE CONNECTION Cordelia Marlow, an eighth-grader at Franklin Middle School, describes her school lunches as poor. “The food quality went down after 2010,” she said, referring to changes in the federally funded National School Lunch program. “The taste and texture are bad. The meat is soggy and tastes kind of weird.” The […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Time for back-to-school physicals
SIU pediatrician Dr. Greg Bennett conducts a physical at the SIU HealthCare clinic. PHOTOS COURTESY SIU SCHOOL OF MEDICINE School supply list: Pencils? Check. Folders? Check. Back to school physical? Vaccines? If your children are entering pre-K, kindergarten, sixth or ninth grade or are new to Illinois or Springfield Public Schools, they need a medical […]
