The WorkGroup

Every workplace has its usual range of personalities, and some are better for the environment than others. Two of the biggest personality types, and two of most easily identified types, are whiners and winners, and it’s important to figure out which category you fall into.
Winners are the kind of people that approach […]

By Paula Gregorowicz
Rest & Relaxation (R&R) is not just a luxury for the well-to-do. It is essential to our well-being and is truly not optional. It is the lifeblood that keeps us sharp mentally and physically while giving our creative juices time to rejuvenate.
When I say R&R, what picture or words come to mind? Do […]

I have Attention Deficit Disorder and a bony ass. So do many of my students.
I was oblivious to the discomfort of my students at their student desks for many years. Most of my graduate classes involved comfortable seminar rooms. When I took an inservice course in an actual classroom a few years into my […]

When I was working at the Ragu Spaghetti Sauce factory that used to be in Rochester, NY, I learned what my name is in Italian. No, it’s not Cristofo or something cool like that.
The Ragu factory was an ethnic experience unlike any I’d ever had. Growing up in a small town […]

Throughout my career organization has been my weakest point, and that’s not good, although fairly typical for a teacher. What papers go where? What goes to the office and when? Who did I have to send a test to detention for? Who was I going to give detention to? How […]

I worked as a temp for a few days in a factory that specialized, at least while I worked there, in putting the labels on Fisher Price Toys. The line I worked on put the alphabet on the Little People farm silos.
I started the morning in quality control, going through box after […]

During the early part of the industrial revolution, in the days of shameless laissez-faire, the industrialists came up with the brilliant idea of hiring children. In addition to being able to pay them less, their little fingers could perform intricate work that bigger fingers couldn’t do, and their small bodies fit places where bigger […]

The first day I showed up for work at the construction site I had no idea what kind of physical workout I was going to be facing. I was in reasonably good shape for a guy that just got out of college. Of course the last couple weeks of college and senior parties, […]

Very likely if you’re working a retail, sales or customer service job, you need to dress up a little for work. If you’re low on cash or cash or just starting out, that can be a tall order. How can you dress for success on a tight budget?
Your first instinct might be to […]

I went into the middle school thinking I had a cake Social Studies assignment that I’d discussed with the teacher the night before. Give a quiz, watch a movie, collect the work, and work on my grad school homework while the kids worked. It was supposed to be a beautiful day.
Substitute […]