Articles written by Maria Bray

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About me - Maria Bray

Wife, teacher, mother of two. I know too little about too much. Married to Denis Leary on speed. It's an interesting life.

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Relationships & Family > Tips for Marital Happiness Changing your spouse's behavior: 1 of 27

I cringed when I saw the title: "Changing your spouse's behavior." A better title might be, "How to doom a marriage" or maybe, "How to drive you and your spouse crazy in 10 easy steps". Hey, it's not that I don't have sympathy for those who would like less irritation in their lives. I've often floated off daydreaming th...
Parenting & Pregnancy > Tweens & Pre-Teens Tips for increasing awareness and respect toward teenagers: 3 of 14

One thing I didn't understand until I entered teaching was both sons' complaints that their teachers were "mean". I figured that they thought that because they were expected to work and behave and generally had to do things that weren't fun. I'd heard that complaint from the time they could formulate the words any time my wi...
Society & Lifestyle > Personal Morals & Values Narcissism: The decline of a society: 7 of 26

"Excuse ME? I've been waiting here 10 minutes now! This is RIDICULOUS!" "I'm sorry, Sir. We're very busy today. Someone will be with you soon. Please wait your turn," the postal clerk replied in a polite yet clipped manner. He turned back to me and with an unnecessary apology, resumed our transaction. Mr. Center-of-the-Unive...
Education > Secondary School (Other) Why teenagers do not want to learn: 20 of 28

"Why do many of today's teens not want to learn?" My knee-jerk response to this question was: "For much the same reasons my generation didn't want to learn." However, while considering the question further through my experiences as a student, a parent, a teacher, and an advocate of educational reform, the issue grew more opa...
Relationships & Family > Dating Commentary What qualifies a man as dating potential?: 36 of 37

You're young and single (or perhaps not so young and single again) and you meet a guy that makes your stomach do backflips. How can you tell whether you want to date him? Silly Girlfriend! Your stomach did backflips, right? Well, that's your cue. He's got potential. You don't need me for this. It only gets tricky when one st...
Education > Educational Philosophy How to be a good teacher: 51 of 52

My first student teaching assignment was a roller coaster of emotion. I had good days, bad days. I had days I vowed I'd never go back to "that stupid school with those rude little jerks" and then days where my feet didn't even touch ground. Mostly, I looked toward my mentor teachers-those in the education program, my mentor ...