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By SUSAN WOZNIAK

I have never been a high wage earner. Thirty thousand dollars was my ceiling, although it was never my choice.More to the point, I strongly believed in the “how to balance family and work” plan popular among baby boomers during the late ’60s and into...

By SUSAN WOZNIAK

I have written about education before. About the need to teach geography in elementary school. Supporting independent reading. Having elementary school students rotate among three teachers during the day: one to teach reading and writing; one to teach...

By SUSAN WOZNIAK

Whether a book is a classic, like “Sense and Sensibility,” or a recent publication deserving of the rave reviews that put it on the lists of book clubs throughout America, readers really, really want to see the movie version as soon as possible....

By SUSAN WOZNIAK

I have no idea when or why I decided I wanted to live in Massachusetts. Maybe it was its history, or its intellectual reputation. Maybe it was the beautiful photographs that graced the calendars that oil companies handed out. The ones printed on...

By SUSAN WOZNIAK

As summer was winding down, I had a conversation with a young woman. Something she said, led me to answer, “That’s out of my bailiwick.” She looked puzzled and asked, “What’s a bailiwick?” I chuckled a bit and said, “Your generation uses the word...

By SUSAN WOZNIAK

I was surprised by the statement that typefaces decorated with serifs are easier to read.Surprised because a typeface with serifs can look crowded. They can also look out of date. Fans of serifs might easily say, “But, serifs are a tradition!” I might...

By SUSAN WOZNIAK

Just before covid struck, I began thinking about Hannah Arendt. I knew little of her other than she witnessed the trial of Adolf Eichmann in Jerusalem, and, that she coined the phrase, “the banality of evil.” Due to what was happening socially and...

By SUSAN WOZNIAK

Several years ago, I arrived home as a neighbor was walking to her car. We waved and she called out that she was going to a nearby bakery and could she pick up something for me. I thanked her, adding that I did not need bread. “But, it’s (insert a...

By SUSAN WOZNIAK

The public lecture has long been the source of informal social opportunities and continuing education. There were several such movements in America during the 19th century that opened exploration, science, arts and politics to ordinary people.In the...

By SUSAN WOZNIAK

Humans are storytellers. We invented novels and poetry and plays to satisfy our need for stories. The tales we experience stir our emotions, sometimes allowing us to relax and often teaching us what we need to know.As I have been with my grandkids...

By SUSAN WOZNIAK

During my kidhood, our family spent evenings in front of the television. One sponsor urged people to “keep on hand” its packaged foods for times “when friends drop by.”In those days, friends and relatives often dropped by, a custom that has since...

By SUSAN WOZNIAK

One of the most remembered scenes in American films comes from “The Graduate,” in which Benjamin Braddock, the graduate of the title, is played by Dustin Hoffman. At Benjamin’s party to celebrate his achievement, a guest tells him a single word. The...

By SUSAN WOZNIAK

It all started when I used the word bailiwick. I was speaking to a young woman. Perhaps, I was trying to make an appointment or to gather information. When I realized that she could not answer my question, I said, “That’s okay. It’s not in your...

By SUSAN WOZNIAK

I grew up in a working-class suburb of Detroit, where Irish, Italian and Polish families dominated.Our celebration of Halloween, however, seemed a throwback to the rag dances of England, for which adult singers and Morris dancers attached rags to...