Viva la Vida- Coldplay

I am supremely uncomfortable.

It has been a rough week, full of reflection, that has left me feeling a bit fragile. 

First of all, let me say THANK YOU to all the people who have made this last year one of the most amazing of my life.  My family and friends, you have been there through the highs and lows and have supported me as I started to grow wings and step outside of my comfort zone.  It has been an absolute rollercoaster of emotions and I have always known that no matter how scary the drop, you were going to be there cheering me on. I could not have done this without you.

 

 

   

Growth does not come without growing pains.  All of a sudden, or so it felt, a series of things hit me at once and I'm just not sure how to handle it.  The end of my reign as Teacher of the Year is this week, Wednesday in fact (The Queen is dead, long live the Queen.), and I am just exhausted.  I have done my best to represent NJ education and put over 17,000 miles on the car as I have travelled all over NJ to talk to students, teachers, parents, politicians and anyone else who will listen.   

 

 



 My magic coach turned back into a pumpkin and I had to give back the teachermobile this week. I have been able to put off buying a new car for a year, but the time came last week to face the music.  It took six guys to sell me my new car and although I like my new ride, I am not looking forward to a car payment for the next five years.   

 

I am also in the middle of planning a Forum for award winning educators and their administrators.  It is looking like registration will hit 150 people and most of all, I want these educators to feel like the rock stars they are.  I don't want to lecture at them, I want them to be able to network, share best practices, and show their administrators what can happen when you put a group of dynamic educators in a room together.  Of course, I am trying to do this while I will be at a conference.  Yikes! 

 

I had dinner with the 2013 Teacher of the Year this week, who is just wonderful and a real dynamo that will represent NJ education well.   However, it is all still top secret until Wednesday, so you will have to wait for details.  One tradition I can tell you about that I worked on this week is that we NJTOYs get together and take the newest member of our family out for dinner so we get the chance to meet and share some words of wisdom. 

Anyway, the ceremony (Coronation Day) is on Wednesday is followed by my last National TOY conference on Thursday.  As usual, it is just in time and I can't wait to see these people who have become my extended family.  But this time, the joy that I get in seeing them will also be tinged with sorrow because this is our last official gathering.  It is a sad truth that I will never see some of these people again.  

 

I am currently on loan to the Dept of Education and it is difficult adjusting to the quiet life of a pink cubicle.  I am having issues because unlike a classroom where you have extreme highs and lows every day, sometimes in the same class period, a cubicle is remarkably calm.  There is no routine or structure to my day, no chaos, no group of people all demanding your attention at the same time, and most of all, no way to know if you are making a difference in the world. Silence can be deafening sometimes and I miss the noise.  I know I made the right choice to work with the DOE, but it is an adjustment I am making one small step at a time. I wish I could do both teach and work with the DOE, that would be a dream job. 

 

One of the things that got me thinking was an assignment for the upcoming conference where they want us to share best practices from our classroom. It has been hard enough adjusting to life without students, I am afraid this reminder of how much I miss them will leave me an emotional wreck. 

 

This gathering of TOYs and the arranging of the NJTOY dinner to welcome our newest family member got me thinking.  I began to reflect on what I have accomplished this past year and thinking about what other NJ TOYs have done.  In just the last 12 years of TOYS we have an Executive Director of a national organization, someone who created their own successful math and physics program that is now being used around the world, prestigious national and state award winners, teaching ambassador fellows, Smart board experts, administrators, NBCTs, leaders of major educational groups and a whole host of other things too long for me to mention.  Then there is me feeling woefully inadequate in relation to this pantheon of giants in education.  I feel unworthy to be counted among them because I don't feel like I have accomplished anything of substance.  I give a great motivational speech, but that only gets you so far.  I am hoping my best and most lasting work is yet to come as I transition from my year of recognition to my years of service.

 

All these things began to manifest themselves in me by the end of the week.  It was not about handing over the title, like I said, I am very happy for the new TOY and couldn't be prouder.  I was tired, and the person staring back at me when I saw my reflection in the mirror looked old.  I became easily agitated and snapped at a friend and I even yelled at my cat.  I felt like I was fraying at the edges and set adrift without direction.  I knew that this was not normal for me, but was this normal for a TOY?  Only one group of people could tell me.

 

It turns out I am normal (debatable, but thank goodness!) but growing does not come without considerable frustration and discomfort.  I'll be fine, it is just going to take some time. 

 

Just as I was trying to wrap my head around all of this, I came down with a cold that knocked me out all weekend.  All of this stress to deal with combined with an illness means that I am one big emotional blob.  Not a pretty sight.         

 

 

     I ended up at my Mom's on Sunday for some much needed TLC.  My family is not very demonstrative when it comes to emotions, but I know they are always there to support me.  Mom asked if I had read an article in the paper that morning, which I hadn't yet, because it reminded her of me.  Curious, I checked it out.

 

The piece, written by Lisa Scottoline for the Philadelphia Inquirer, finally made me smile this week. Lisa was talking about watching her daughter give a speech and said this,

Someone said to me, "She's her mother's daughter."
And I said, "Thanks, but she's herself, and she's amazing."....

It was that kind of weekend.
Stars collided, then aligned. And I got to see my own special star shine, bathing me in her light, leaving me blissful and blessed.
There can be no greater pleasure, as a parent, than watching your child come fully into her own, taking all of her God-given talents and putting them to their most perfect use.
That feeling?
It's Mom Heaven.

Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/20120930_Chick_Wit__The_stars_align_in_Mom_Heaven.html#ixzz2865ndifC
Watch sports videos you won't find anywhere else


  
I realized after reading it that someone had been paying attention this year and she is very proud of me.

I love you too, Mom

 

Please Don't Go- KWS

You are a valuable part of this school community.

Who would have thought that such a simple statement, uttered by an administrator, could make such a difference in the life of a teacher? Too often, it is something teachers never hear, even the really good ones. Is it that administration doesn't know who the really good teachers are, or even worse, that they don't care? Is this The Widget Effect at its worst? Do principals actually believe that all teachers, as long as they are certified, are interchangeable and expendable?

I know I am a little behind, but I was finally able to sit down and read The Irreplaceables, a study by TNTP about how great teachers are leaving at an alarming rate because administrators are not enforcing high expectations or telling educators that they are valued, appreciated, or giving them meaningful feedback on what they do. These Irreplaceable teachers often love teaching, and the students who have them are more likely to say that their teacher cares, doesn't let them give up when things get tough, and makes learning enjoyable. Those teachers that can make this connection with their students leave lasting effects for a lifetime.  Think about who your favorite teacher was and why.  I am willing to bet that not only were they passionate about what they did and the subject they taught, but they were able to see you as a person and not just another student to give a grade to.  Students know who the great teachers are and tell them often. These are the priceless gems that sparkle brilliantly when things in classroom life seem stressful and bleak.  So if kids can tell teachers that they make a difference, why don’t adults do it too?

So, what causes this phenomenon? According to Retaining Teacher Talent: The View From Generation Y, by Learning Point Associates and Public Agenda, a study done in the 1960s claims that teachers have remained largely egalitarian for decades because teaching is seen a service career and in order to prove you are dedicated to the greater good, you should give more than you receive. To show ambition, or have a desire to be acknowledged or rewarded, was considered suspect. While this theory may still hold some water, times have changed.  New Generation Y teachers are not content with education as a static profession with little feedback and no career continuum available if you want to remain in the classroom.  Call me crazy, but I would venture to guess that those members of Gen X and Baby Boomers who are in that top 20% are disgruntled too.  Everyone wants to know that the work they do is valued and that they make a difference. We may be on a mission, but we are not missionaries. 

The Irreplaceables talks about that top 20% of teachers considered to be the very best, not just in regard to test scores, but also in providing an engaging learning experience for their students.  I would argue that most award winning teachers, whether local, county, state or national fall into this category.  Yet, I have heard horror stories from these same award winning teachers, after being recognized by external organizations, about how they are ridiculed and shunned by their colleagues and administration simply because they have been singled out and recognized.  Others think these award winners believe themselves “too good” to work amongst their mere mortal colleagues.  Haven’t they actually disproven this theory by being great teachers in the first place?  The great ones I know don’t teach for themselves.  I have even heard administrators tell me they would not nominate educators for awards because they don’t want to create tension in the department or school.  So people go on being unrecognized, the Widget Effect continues, and the profession suffers because no one will speak up to recognize excellence for fear of showing favoritism by administrators and ostracism by staff. And we wonder why we are not treated like professionals? Some teachers give up because they realize working your tail off is futile and they become burned out.   The worst effect of this neglect is that great teachers leave schools that desperately need them, or worse yet, leave the profession all together.  According to Leading Gen Y Teachers: Emerging Strategies for School Leaders, by the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality, when teachers leave, there are additional costs in the form of lowered morale and loss of institutional memory.  The negative effects discussed in The Widget Effect and The Irreplaceables trickle down from administration until the ideas permeate the staff as well, who police themselves.  It has created a climate and culture which feeds upon itself, discourages excellence, and urges a mediocre status quo.      

What is it going to take to keep you here?

          A question with immeasurable value.  Teachers, especially the new Generation Y, want to see that there is room for growth and that they are recognized for their accomplishments.  In the world outside of education, these factors rate even more highly than salary when it comes to motivation.  Education is no different.  Why should you have to be an administrator in order to be a leader?  In many districts there is no career continuum for those teachers with excellent skills in research, peer coaching, or understanding of policy to actually make a difference.  Leading GenY Teachers says that the positive effects of school leadership are greater when leadership is widely distributed among staff members.  So why haven't we done it?  Is it a matter of those that have control who are not willing to relinquish it, or do our colleagues create a climate that makes it impossible?  I have seem collaborative environments work in many schools, elementary schools in particular, but high schools seem less willing to share.  When I am talking about leadership roles, I am not talking about uncompensated ones where responsibilities are heaped on an already full course load, that does not show respect, and I am not talking about merit pay either.  There are plenty of hybrid roles that can be created, or honoraria that can be paid.  Much of leadership is coaching, just not on an athletic field.  Soemthing needs to be done in order to attract and retain great teachers, no matter what their age, because the students suffer when they leave.  Retaining Teacher Talent notes that the research suggests that many young teachers leave the profession not because they are ineffective, it is because they feel stifled. This can be fixed.

I would argue that the effects of The Irreplaceables trickle down to our students too.

Just as teachers need be recognized for what they do, our students need to hear it even more. While some may believe students already feel entitled and have too much confidence, there are many who fall through the cracks every day because no one ever took the time to get to know them, find out what their gifts were, and provide some guidance to help them achieve their hopes and dreams. Everyone wants to be acknowledged when they do something well, and everyone deserves constructive feedback.  Imagine handing back class assignments and they have no grades and no comments because everyone will receive the same average grade.  How would the students know how to improve?  Why should they bother?  We would not do this to our students, so why do we allow it to happen to us?  Have the conditions in Widget Effect and Irreplaceables not only permeated faculty, but also effected our students?  If a climate of high expectations and acknowledgement does not exist among the administration and faculty, how likely is it that there will be high expectations for the students?  I see it in those teachers who maintain absolute control of their classes where students will never be smarter than the teacher and are bullied or ridiculed when they ask questions.  This has got to stop.
 

To you top 20%, please don’t go because your students need you.  Perhaps it is time that we learn a lesson from the kids.  You are valued.  What do we have to do to keep you?

 

 

---

          Weisberg, Daniel, Sexton, Susan, Mulhern, Jennifer, & Keeling, David (2009)The Widget Effect: Our National Failure to Acknowledge and Act Upon Teacher Effectiveness   http://widgeteffect.org/

 

         TNTP (2012)  The Irreplaceables: Understanding the Real Retention Crisis in America’s Urban Schools    http://tntp.org/irreplaceables

 

         Coggshall, J. G., Ott, A., Behrstock, E. & Lasagna, M., (2010). Retaining Teacher Talent: The View from Generation Y.   http://www.learningpt.org/expertise/educatorquality/genY/Gen%20Y%20report.pdf

 

       Behrstock, E., & Clifford, M. (2009). Leading Gen Y: Emerging Strategies for School Leaders. Washington, DC: National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality  http://www.tqsource.org/publications/gen_y.php

 

To Sir, With Love - Lulu

Among other things this week, I got an email from a second year history teacher.  He saw that I won a few awards and wanted to know if I could offer any wisdom.  He wanted the secret to how I did it. Feeling the loss of my students rather acutely at the moment, I began crafting a response which, in slightly edited form, you see below. I consider it my love letter to education.  Play the tune and enjoy.
 

 

 

Hi Frank,

This is going to be lengthy. Best to settle in.

     The secret to great teaching? I hate to tell you this but there is no secret; it is really hard work. There will never be a profession that leaves you more mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausted at the end of the week. If you do not feel like you have hit a brick wall by the time Friday night rolls around, you are doing something wrong. In my 17 years of teaching I have seen people and initiatives come and go, but I have also learned a few things to be absolute truths. I hope you find them helpful. 

      First, you must love your students. I don’t mean like, I mean love them like they are your own kids. Love, because sometimes they will work your last nerve and push you away with every fiber of their being. In many cases, this is because the adults in their lives have given up on them time and time again and the students know it is easier to keep you at a distance than actually care about you. You may be the adult that a student spends the most time with in the course of a day. Kids can smell insincerity at 50 paces, and if they think you are just showing up to collect a paycheck or until something better comes along, they will treat you accordingly.

      Second, you must have a tremendous amount of energy. Teaching is not something that ends at 3:00 Monday through Friday. Education is something that happens 24/7, 365 days a year. Teaching is a marathon, not a sprint, and you will have days with soaring highs and soul searching lows. You will hit some brick walls with students, colleagues, administration and bureaucracy. You can’t let it stop you, you have to figure out how to get around the obstacle and keep moving. It doesn’t just involve you either, your whole family is drawn in as you collect objects for lessons, drag them to museums and historic sites for a dry run, and force them to buy all the fundraisers that come along. I cannot tell you how many times my mom has helped me grade papers, put up bulletin boards, or work in the snack shack at football games. She has even brought my lunch to school when I forgot it and was broke, and I am a grown woman.

      Third, when it comes to students, you can’t teach them until you reach them. That means that you need to know how they learn best, what their cultural influences are, their biases, their socioeconomic status and how it affects them. By the way, you need to know all this about yourself too. What are your biases, how do you learn best, and where do your influences come from? If you are an auditory learner and your students are visual, you may explain something to them and they don’t get it. It doesn’t mean they are dumb, it means you are not communicating effectively. Every child acts the way they do for a reason and your job is not to judge them, but to dig and find out why.

      In this same area, in order to get to know your students, you have to let them get to know you, as a person. I don’t mean in a creepy way, but they need to see that you are human. You can’t expect them to share if you are unwilling to do it yourself. I show them my baby and high school pictures, pictures of my family and my cat, and explain where I have learning difficulties. Find out what their hopes and dreams are and where their gifts and talents lie. You may recognize their potential for greatness long before anyone else does.   Everyone is good at something.  Help them cultivate their gifts and express the importance of paying it forward to help others. Show them humanity and they will show it to others.

      Fourth, you never stop learning until the day you die. You must constantly seek new knowledge and experiences, and find ways to bring them into the classroom that are meaningful. Life doesn’t happen in textbooks, get them out and experiencing the world. Take them to museums, historic sites, the theater and anywhere else where their imagination can be stimulated. Learning is an adventure of discovery that you ask your students to join you on. Learning is complex and everything is inter-related. Your job is to help them find the connections, and by extension, realize that they have choices available to them they may not have realized. In order to do this, students have to feel comfortable trying new things, even if it means they are going to fail, but you need to protect them from ridicule so they can try. This means that you have to be willing to try new things too, and also admit to them and yourself that there are some things you don’t know.

      Are you tired and overwhelmed yet? Your job is not nearly over. You need to find yourself a mentor. A Yoda, or Zen Master if you will. I don’t care how many years you have been teaching,  you always need a mentor. Wander the halls and find the person that you think is a great teacher, even if they are not in your subject area. Bribe them into talking to you with coffee, chocolate, or offer to take them out for something stronger if it is a Friday. If you don’t know who the great ones are, ask the kids. After you find them, listen, learn, and ask questions. After that you have to be willing to share with your colleagues even if they don’t want to know. Some people are very set in their ways, CAVE dwellers (Consistently Against Virtually Everything), but don’t give up. Once again, listen learn and value everyone’s ideas even if you don’t agree with them. There are reasons that they act the way they do, too.

I would suggest getting involved as an advisor or coach for an extra-curricular activity. Nothing will bond you to the kids like working with them outside of class.

If you don’t know who the people are that run the school, it is the secretaries and custodial staff. Be exceedingly kind to these people, they can save your life sometimes.

      Notice that none of this is about metrics, or the science, of teaching. It is the art of teaching, and without it, all the science in the form of pedagogy and assessment will fail. Your job is to cultivate a love of learning and a curiosity in your students and to help them see their role in the bigger picture of life. Great teachers have passion, dedication, and are expert communicators who can build relationships.

      At the end of the day, you don’t teach because you may win an award. There are tons of great teachers who never win an award; I was simply lucky. I am not the best teacher in NJ,. Heck, I am not even the best teacher I can be because I still have lots to learn and  I am evolving every day, but I am proud to represent the 110,000+ teachers in NJ and the great work that they do. Sadly, it is often the case that your administration may be indifferent to what you do. I have been in 3 schools in my 17 years of education and not once have any of them told me that I was a valuable asset to the school or attempted to convince me to stay. This phenomenon, discussed in the TNTP study The Irreplaceables, needs to change and we need to help shift that climate by celebrating what we do.  Your colleagues may also try to take you down a peg because they are jealous or have their own insecurities.  The people who will notice what you do are your students.  You may not know it now, but even if they are the biggest pain in the class, you will have an effect on them.  Some will come back years later to say thank you, some will come into your class hating history but love it by the time they leave, and some students will keep you as a part of their lives long after they graduate and have lives of their own.  You will be invited to their weddings and meet their children.  Some will even want to become a teacher because of you.  The kids are the ones that really mater.   

      I wish you the best for a happy and healthy school year. Remember, you don’t do what you do for a paycheck, you have to teach from the soul. It is more than what you do, it should be who you are. You should do this job because maybe, just maybe, you make the difference in a student’s life that can put them on the path to success. Don’t fill the bucket, light the fire.

 

Good Teaching,

Jeanne

Shout- The Isley Brothers



 

Now wai-a-ait a minute!
I feel aaaaaaallllllright!

 

 

Perceptions can be very powerful.  However, it is important to remember when you have perception but no evidence, those perceptions can be wrong and should not be used as the basis of judgement.  One of the first rules I ever learned in education was, don't judge...dig.  I am ever grateful to master teacher Mrs. Thoren for showing me the power of that lesson.  More on that later. 

 

Perceptions formed the basis for my week which was full of new beginnings, convention politics, and illumination as I visited four different schools.  While these items might appear personal, perhaps too personal to matter to others, my humanities training tells me that the choices I make connect me to the rest of the world because there are common ideas and values that we share as part of our human experience. I see the power of education everywhere, and if you believe that teaching makes all other occupations possible, then you need to pay attention to the big picture and how we fit into it.

 

Any teacher will tell you that although it was a short week, it certainly did not feel that way.  That first week back at school brings sleepless nights, anxiety, sore feet, a reminder to take your vitamins, exhaustion, and for me a sore throat.  Invariably, this happens as I emerge from my hermit-like state of quiet during the summer and my students and I are introduced, get to know each other, and begin the great adventure of learning.   Typically, by the time that first Friday night comes around I feel like a big blob of jello and sound like a cross between Kathleen Turner and a frog.  You see, teaching is not for the faint of heart.  A typical day, if there is such a thing, can have soaring highs and soul-searching lows, and it requires you to be physically, emotionally, socially and intellectually aware and engaged at all times.  In short, it is organized chaos and by far the most exhausting thing I have ever done.

 

My first day was different this year, as I was on the road at 6am to speak at the convocation at Hillside HS.  The temps were in the mid-80s but the humidity was at 98% and it had been like this for a few days.  I knew my hair was looking like something out of the Bride of Frankenstein, but after speaking at dozens of  colleges, universities, and conference centers over the last year, I figured the climate in the auditorium where I would be speaking would be carefully climate controlled and my hair would behave.  As I pulled up to the school, I noticed that all the doors and windows were open.  No air conditioning.  Did I mention there was 98% humidity? 

 

 

 

 

The staff and administration graciously sat through my presentation fanning themselves like they were at a church revival, and I gave it everything I had as I quickly developed a sheen of perspiration that turned into rivulets that ran in places I will not mention.  So glad I had on waterproof mascara.   I talked about the realities of the art and science of teaching versus what those perceptions were by policy makers and the public.  The speech continued with the importance of knowing our own culture and biases and those of our students so that we can meet them where they are and form a relationship of educational trust where students feel that they can make mistakes without being ridiculed/  This is encompassed in the idea that you can't teach them until you reach them.  I talked about the importance of teacher leadership, the importance of vision and action, and warned them to stay away from the C.A.V.E. dwellers (Consistently Against Virtually Everything). Now, anyone who knows me, knows that I "keep it real" (hence the nickname Jersey) when talking about education, so I wrapped things up by warning them against negativity in schools, the dangers of gossip, and showed them my favorite Eleanor Roosevelt quote.  

 

    

 

Ok, I admit it, I laid into them probably a little more than I needed to,but it resonated as people clapped and nodded their heads.  The message was to open up their classrooms to the public and each other to share the great things going on in education every day.  There are fabulous educators throughout the state who do an amazing job every day and it is time the public, and their colleagues, knew about it.  The talk must have worked, or then again they might have just felt bad for me as I stood before them a melted and frizzy mess, because I got a standing ovation and many people thanking me for the inspiration and honesty in my talk.  Thanks Hillside, YOU ROCK! 

 

Leaving the school, I thought about the teachers and the challenges they would face in their first few weeks of school having to deal with the climate on top of all the other challenges educators face.  Having taught in schools without air conditioning myself, I know that nothing sticks on the walls when the humidity is that bad, and the kids are lethargic at best.  Open windows also lead to bees buzzing in, and we all know how kids react to that.  How can you learn when you are that uncomfortable and struggling to breathe, particularly if you have asthma or allergies to things like mold which grow in those conditions?   How can you have technology in the classrooms when it would be damaged because of the heat and humidity?  How can you be expected to dress as a professional when it is so hot your sweat leaves embarrassing marks on your clothes?  As I grew up, my own schools had no air conditioning and I remember how the temperatures put a damper on learning.  Two of the four schools I visited this week had no air conditioning.  If we are going to seriously address learning, then the physical buildings must be a part of the conversation because the physical structure causes us to lose valuable learning time and it sends a message.  We have a problem.  How do you reach 21st Century students with teachers who have 20th Century training  and technology in schools whose physical buildings and schedules were designed for the 19th Century?  Someone once told me that if I wanted to know who the important people were in a school, all I needed to do was see which rooms and offices were air conditioned.  What kind of message does it send when the adults are given better conditions than the kids in the same building?  How many people outside the world of education today would be willing to put up with such conditions?   

 

My day was far from over as I drove to Trenton to settle into the cubicle I will call home for the next year.  I got the layout of the land and began to unpack, nest a little, and try to figure out how my new BlackBerry works. (I apologize if I have butt-dialed you this week.)  I am sitting in the early childhood education department (real estate is scarce on the floor), and they are wonderful people who have been very friendly, inclusive, and made me feel most welcome 

 

Remember my lost keys?

 

Perhaps the most amazing thing about my first day was an email from the teacher who is currently using my old classroom.  I left her a message about the fact that I couldn't find my keys and she emailed to let me know that she had them! They had been left in the room when I was showing her the hidden latch to unlock the drawers of the teacher desk.  As I was unpacking at the DOE and received the email, I had Pandora playing on my computer and what song comes on?  Over the Rainbow by Iz, the song I put with my blog post about the lost keys.  Really, I can't make this stuff up.  I took it as a sign that everything was going to be alright.  Along with the wonderful morning with the staff of Hillside, I knew I had made the right decision to come to the DOE.  It was as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders and an enormous smile emerged.  

 

Remember that talk about perception in the beginning?  While my year has had some amazing highs, it has also brought some perception problems by those who are happy to pass judgement, but have never taken the time to find out the facts.  When you walk into a room and hear someone sarcastically refer to you as the "Teacher of the Universe" or you are greeted with "Well, if it isn't Miss America", it doesn't take you long to figure out where you stand.  The truth is, I am a teacher trying to make a difference, just like so many fabulous teachers across the state every day, but unlike many others I have the good fortune to have a platform to speak from.  Anyone who has heard me or visited my classroom to watch me teach knows my love of teaching and how willing I am to put other people, especially my students, ahead of myself.   I have done my best and worked tirelessly to promote Career and Technical Education, my school, my students, my colleagues, and the profession to anyone willing to listen and want nothing more than to take what I have learned in this last year to help move education forward.  Am I more confident than I was a year ago?  Certainly.  It takes some guts to get up on a stage in front of 600+ people and talk to them about education in an environment that is hostile, especially when you have been terrified of public speaking your whole life.  Do I know everything?  Not even close.  Am I the best teacher in the state?  Not a chance, although I am honored to represent all 110,000+ of us.  I am not even the best teacher I can be yet because I am constantly learning and evolving.  Do I have a passion for what I do?  Absolutely, and I am not afraid to share that, nor the insights I have gained in my 16 years in a classroom if it can help someone else.  Would you want a teacher of the year who simply maintained the status quo and didn't defend education or talk about the great things going on all over the state?  It certainly would have been easier for me to take it easy, smile, and wave than put 16,000 miles on the car and maintain an insane schedule to listen and learn from people around the state.  Do we really need more negativity or people who are unwilling to speak up?  Michelle Obama said of the President this week at the convention, " A title doesn't change who you are, it reveals who you are."  I agree, but that revelation also comes from listening to a person's message and examining the ethics and values in their work which gives insight into their sense of civic responsibility and humanity.  If you haven't the evidence to back up your claim, don't judge.  When it comes to education, we are all in this together.            

Thursday morning found me on my way to Middletown HS South to speak to their combined staff.   I met the superintendent, a man with a vision who is willing to take action, while speaking at beautiful Monmouth University to their student teachers a few weeks before. His enthusiasm was infectious as he spoke about his wonderful staff and gave me a tour of Wilson Hall, the mansion from the movie Annie that served as the home of Daddy Warbucks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  He asked me to speak about my usual motivational stuff as well as block scheduling. Hmmm....a tricky topic to make exciting, but not impossible.  Like education in any subject, it is all about making connections.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What made me even more motivated was an exchange I had with one of my former students via Twitter. She had tweeted to say that she couldn't wait to come to my class and have breakfast on her first day. I didn't know how to tell her that I wouldn't be there, but I did and waited for the reaction hoping it was not anger and a feeling of abandonment. What I got instead that morning before I left was affirmation. Her reaction was this, " Ms. D, it is an awesome opportunity and I am happy you took it. Yes, we are all gonna miss your sunshine sweaters but this thing is bigger than us. Congratulations!!!! You are going to make a great difference in education, and touch more students lives than you ever could at one school."   The tears just started flowing.  I thought about what she said later while delivering the message at Middletown about how important the work of educators is and the importance of positive communication and building relationships of trust and learning with our students. The talk then took a segue to our 21st Century students and four C's of learning (Collaboration, Communication, Critical Thinking and Creative Problem Solving) , the new Common Core standards, and the ways that block scheduling can allow teachers to be creative in the way we teach our students so that we reach all learners.  The message resonated with the staff and once again, I was honored with a standing ovation, which the superintendent said never happened before.  It was all caught on video, since they were taping me that morning, so now I will actually have a copy of one of my speeches.  After lunch, I spent the afternoon going from room to room visiting the break out sessions to answer questions and help where I could.  It felt like I had grown wings.  Thank you Middltown High Schools, YOU ROCK!

 



My week ended back at the DOE working on some projects to help ease the journey of the next NJSTOY, but my own journey is not yet complete.  Reminded again of what a public figure you become with this position, I received a copy of my first PSA for Jumpstart's Read for the Record.  Clearly, I am not designed for TV, and I wish I knew why half my face did something different than the other side, but the message is a worthy one.  On October 4th Jumpstart is trying to get everyone to read the book Ladybug Girl and the Bug Squad.  It, and many other books are free at www.wegivebooks.org.  Read on! 

 

 

 

 

By the end of the week, I had the affirmation I needed and was feeling pretty good about the direction I have chosen. The song Shout seemed to say it all. 

Over the Rainbow- Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwo`ole

 

I've lost my school keys.

 

     This is not unusual in and of itself.  I tell my students that I have goldfish brain, you know, once around the bowl and everything is new again.  During the school year that is especially true because while I am busy checking attendance, dress code, writing objectives on the board, greeting all my students as they come in the door, reading their faces and body language for signs of anything unusual,  handling requests from students for letters of recommendation or homework from when they were absent, worrying about paperwork that needs to be done, hoping that the lesson and technology will work that day and there isn't a fire drill, and praying that my shoes match (and I don't mean my outfit, I mean each other because life is rough at 5:30am),  there is a lot a teacher has on their mind as class begins. 

 

     My keys are not easy to lose.  They are big and bulky on purpose and they make a lot of noise. They have both Rutgers and Penn State lanyards, two big plexiglass keychains with a soccer ball on one and a megaphone on the other from my coaching days, a pen, a carabiner to attach them to anything, and a bunch of keys to my filing cabinets, desk, closets etc.  For the last 16 years they have been an extra appendage.  Every time I left my classroom I had my keys.  While on sabbatical at the DOE I lived in a cubicle and yet every time I got up to leave my desk I would look for my keys.  Old habit. 

 

     I knew exactly where my keys were up until two weeks ago, and now they have vanished.  But I think it is a subliminal message.  Let me explain.

 

     I have been putting off writing this post for about two months now because I didn't know how to start it.  I guess I should go back to the beginning.

 

     At the end of June, I had a meeting with the Commissioner of Education.  I had run into him in the elevator a few weeks before and he asked me what I had been up to.  I talked so much I was sure I sucked all of the oxygen out of the elevator, by the time the doors opened on the third floor he said to make sure I stopped by to see him before I finished my sabbatical.  This was that meeting. 

 

     In the meantime, I had been back to school for graduation and I knew it was going to be difficult going back into my classroom after all I have seen and done in the last year.  I knew I would be unable to simply stifle what I have learned because I had changed too much.  I read all the research on education I could get my hands on, talked to all kinds of people including policy makers, and in doing so found a newly awakened passion for education, and trust me, I was pretty passionate before.  I could see what was wrong in education, was determined to help fix it, and had no fear talking to people about it.  I admit, I had been in a nice, comfortable, and very isolated rut in my classroom for quite a while.  I was a very good high school history teacher and I loved it, but now I realized I was a really good motivational speaker, liked working on policy, and had some leadership skills.  In short, I developed educational swag.  There was some trepidation because I didn't know if my school was ready for the new and improved me, but I was looking forward to teaching kids again and getting some normalcy back in my life because this year had been crazy.  I knew it wasn't going to be easy.

 

     I approached the meeting as an exit interview because honestly, I didn't think anyone had been paying attention to all the work I had done since October.  I held Commissioner Cerf in high regard ever since he came in to co-teach with me back in December.  He was good.  Not only was he knowledgeable, but the kids genuinely liked him and were impressed with his intellect and ability to identify with them.  Mind you, they had no idea who he was, they simply thought he was my friend from Trenton because that was a part of the deal; no media, just us and the kids.  The meeting started and the Commissioner was gracious as he asked about the work I had done and my plans for the future.  I wanted to finish my National Board Certification, start work on an Ed.D., and I liked the work I was doing as a committee member with Teacher Evaluation, Model Curriculum and Teacher Effectiveness.  I was very happy to represent teachers in regard to all three and hoped I might be of some use in the future.  Explaining that the last thing he wanted to do was take an effective educator out of the classroom, the Commissioner liked what I had accomplished and then offered to extend my stay at the DOE for a year to continue the work I started and implement some of the ideas I had to get communication flowing between teachers and the DOE.  I was flattered and it was a great offer, but didn't give it a second thought and kept talking.  I had kids waiting for me, and lots of stuff I had put on hold for a year that I wanted to get back to.  I don't think it was what he expected.  We continued talking and the Commissioner made some very salient and insightful points that gave me pause. By the time I left half an hour later, I felt like something in my brain had just burst, and said that I needed to go away to think about things and talk them over with a few people.   I was confused, my world had just been knocked off its axis again, and I had to give a speech in two hours to award winning student teachers.   Wow.

 

     I got through the speech and knocked it out of the park, but desperately needed to talk to someone. Who on earth would understand my dilemma?  Another NJTOY, that's who.  I called the NJTOY I held in the highest regard even though I didn't know her very well yet.  This woman, the epitome of grace and elegance, was a mover and shaker with an amazing intellect and insight and I was in awe of her.  She is responsible in large part for the NJ TOY program being what it is today, including the sponsorship of the sabbatical.  She responded immediately to my email and by the time I got her on the phone I was sure I made no sense, but she talked me down and set me straight.  Evidently there had been many people paying attention to what I had been doing, but I had been so busy I didn't see what I had accomplished and didn't have the time to process any of it.  I spoke to a Jane, a good friend and mentor, and my Mom, and thought about the conversations for the next two days while in a history workshop with some of my colleagues.   My brain wrestled with ideas and possibilities while my stomach churned and my guilt complex raged.  More processing time was required so I went down the shore where my family was gathered.  I got them all together at once and explained my dilemma.  The universal consensus was, go for it!

 

     I had many questions, but my biggest hurdle was the kids.  I had a few that I was worried about and I did not want to abandon them.  It is a sensitive subject for me.  I managed to get a few of my kids together for lunch at the diner and explained the situation.  They gave me their blessing and told me that by making this move, I would be helping far more kids than just the ones who were in my classroom.  From the mouths of babes!  I emailed the Commissioner again and said I was interested in the offer but had many questions, including what he envisioned for me.  He responded that it was not so much what he envisioned but what I envisioned.  I would have the ability to work with any department, on any project, particularly regarding outreach to teachers.  It was a dream job, but a gut wrenching decision to make.  But it is only a year, right?

 

     The final few hurdles that were blocking my way seemed to disappear over the next few weeks, and now I will be the Educator Outreach Coordinator at the NJ Department of Education for the next year.  I am both excited and terrified because this is way outside of my comfort zone. I have the unprecedented opportunity to actually help get the teacher voice heard in NJ.  I made the promise to myself when I became the NJ TOY to be the best one I could be and try to leave the world of education a better place than I found it.  I was driven by two questions I asked myself almost daily.  If not me, who? If not now, when?  I worked myself to near exhaustion, and when people asked me why my schedule was so hectic, I replied that I only had a certain amount of time to get things done before my amazing and magical year was done.  Soon the glass slippers would come off, and my carriage will turn back into a pumpkin.  I can sleep when Thanksgiving rolls around!  Representing over 110,000 teachers is a big responsibility and I wear many hats including teacher, student, government employee, and union member.   While I have always been an advocate for students, I am now also an advocate for the profession.  I have learned that ideology only gets you so far, and you can tilt at windmills if you want, but the people who get things done are those that sit down at the table to work through issues, and I have been offered a seat.

 

      My usual pre-school butterflies have turned into bats, verging on flying saucers, as I await my first day of school next week.  I still have the urge to hit the back to school sales and stockpile pens, folders, and tissues.  Most of all, I know I will miss the kids terribly because my heart aches already.  I was asked if I will pine for them, and the answer is yes, of course I will.  I may be looking into some mentoring programs as soon as time allows.   

 

     Thank you to everyone who has been so supportive of my decision and my often fluctuating moods over this summer.  I have had nothing but love and support from friends and family, but especially from my STOY family across America and beyond, who realize the magnitude of the decision I had to make and the significance of my new position  I will now be able to effect change on a different level and your confidence in me speaks volumes.  I will do my best not to disappoint and keep it "Jersey".   To my STOY besties Katie and Katy, I can only say I owe you one.

 

       This brings me back to the case of the missing keys.  I decided if I was going to be gone all year, I should probably move some of my things out so that whoever was there could do some nesting.  I went in somewhere in mid-July and removed 16 years worth of stuff from the closets, desk, bookcases and some cabinets.  It is amazing how much crap you collect as a teacher because you don't want to throw anything away.  You never know when it might be useful.  Anyway it took a few car loads to get everything stored away in my Mom's garage, but there is still one filing cabinet I need to empty and move to complete the process.  I can't do it, because I can't find my keys.  Is it my subconscious that is still dealing with the change and doesn't want to let go?  Is it fear of the great unknown?  I will tell you one thing, there is something scarier than fear... regret, and I refuse to go through life thinking what if.   I have bought a series of big plastic storage bins so that I can get my books, posters and notes out of the cardboard boxes and milk crates they are in and keep them safe for the forseeable future.  My job for the weekend will be to reorganize what has been my life for the last 16 years. 

And I will find my damn keys....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One Love (Bob Marley)

July 27, 2012

So, what does it mean to be an effective teacher?

     Any good teacher worth their salt will tell you that teaching is about far more than delivering content.  Anyone can memorize, but can you motivate, inspire and help to develop a student's natural sense of curiosity?  Learning is an adventure, and as a teacher/guide we should be inviting our students to join us on that journey of discovery that will help them to figure out who they are and what their place is in the world.  However, that journey will not take place until two things happen.

     First, students need to feel safe to make mistakes.  Learning is messy and students need to feel like they can ask questions without being ridiculed by their teachers or classmates.  Therefore, the classroom needs to be a supportive zone where collaboration, inquiry and imagination are supported.  It is not just about getting the right answer, it is about the process.  How did they come up with the answer?  Do they understand?  Can the students explain it to someone else? This requires teachers to have a love of content,  the wisdom to know that we never stop learning, great intellect to make connections, and a tremendous amount of energy.  Teaching is a marathon, not a sprint, and if you burn out you don't help your students or yourself.

     Second, and this is the most important, you can't teach 'em til you reach 'em.  No significant learning will take place without a significant relationship.  If you think about the teachers in your life that have had an impact on you, it is probably because they saw you as a person, and not just as another student.  Maybe they helped you recognize your dreams, your talents, and your direction in life, and would not let you settle for ordinary when you were really extraordinary. Maybe they helped you to see something that you didn't see in yourself.  Maybe they were a life preserver just when you needed it.  As a teacher, this requires the ability to gauge learning styles, personality, motivation, and body language, not to mention you have to have a whole lot of heart.  It is about communication, your own personality, and having an understanding of the cultural and economic background that both you and your students come from.  You have to be willing to reach out and form a connection that will take time, energy, and often blood, sweat, and tears, knowing that in a few years you may never see these students again.  In order to do this, you have to love your kids, because you give a little piece of your heart to every one of them.  Teaching requires sincerity, honesty, patience, and love because sometimes while they are on their journey trying to figure out who they are and where they are going, they will work your last nerve.  But giving up is not an option because the alternative is too bleak.  What if you are the only one to make a connection and to see a student's gifts? 

     Sometimes, these students become a permanent part of your life, an extended family that remembers your birthday and call on holidays. I have been blessed to have several of these students throughout my career, but some of my most memorable belong to the Class of 2002.  I had only two years teaching experience when I got these students as freshmen, and I had them both in class and as their class advisor.  We spent four long years together getting through Homecoming, fundraisers, the Senior trip and Prom and to be truthful, we grew up together.  It broke my heart when they graduated, but I was so proud of the young ladies and gentlemen they had become.  One, Leslie Bailey, was my first student to become a history teacher.  The other, Yvette Hagins, was my class president and an amazingly creative and talented person, particularly when it comes to fashion. She has been responsible for choosing much of my wardrobe in the last year.  I like fashion and can put together an outfit, but when I have problems I go see Yvette. 

Yvette and Leslie

     About a year ago, Yvette's mom asked me to come to dinner for Yvette's birthday.  I was to be the surprise guest.  Thrilled, I said of course that I would go, but then Mom said that Yvette's fiance, David, would be there.  I growled a little and said that I was sure no one would ever be good enough for my Yvette.  Mom said, "Well, she wants your approval before she marries him."  It stopped me dead in my tracks.  Wow.  It was then that I fully realized the magnitude that a teacher can have on the life of a student.

The birthday dinner with David, Mom (Harriet), Yvette, and me

      I met David and he was wonderful, perfect for Yvette, and I was ecstatic that they found each other.  The wedding would be the day I returned from Space Camp, and I wouldn't miss it for the world.  I was determined that I would be there and nothing short of an Executive Order would keep me away.  I was prepared to leave Space Camp a day early, but I found a flight that left Huntsville, Alabama at 6:00am and should have put me back in Philadelphia in plenty of time.  Fingers crossed the weather would hold out.

 I made it home in plenty of time (two hours to spare) and had a wonderful time at the wedding. I cried the moment Yvette appeared to walk down the aisle. Tears of joy. I spent the evening laughing and dancing with the family and my plus one for the evening was another 2002 graduate, Hollee Tucker.  We had a great time catching up on everything and everyone.  How could ten years have passed since they graduated? How lucky am I to have them as a part of my life?

My plus one for the evening, former student Hollee Tucker. So nice catching up with her!

David and Yvette before they danced down the stairs!

I may not have given birth to her, but she is mine.

Loving the pink shoes.  On the bottom one said "I" and the other said "Do"



With Mom, welcomed as one of the family



The bride and groom, doing things their way!

    
     In all the talk about metrics and science of how to measure a good teacher, I would ask everyone to remember who the teacher was that had the most impact on their lives and why? We don't talk about the interpersonal and intrapersonal part of education these days. Measurements can tell us a lot about our students and our practice, but they can't teach us how to connect with a student, how to inspire them, motivate them and help them find their dreams. We don't talk enough about the art of education, the creativity and emotional intelligence that you need to reach and teach these kids. We need to talk more about bias, cultural relativity, and how good education leads to increased civic engagement and a sense of responsibility.  We are not just training people for jobs, we are educating them for life. 

Cosmic Girl (Jamiroquai)

She's just a cosmic girl
From another galaxy
My heart's at zero gravity
She's from a cosmic world

July 20-27
Space Camp!

I was feeling a little like I was stuck in the movie Groundhog Day as I was back at the airport again.  Thanks to the weather, I didn't roll into Huntsville Alabama until well after midnight.  My fellow STOYs had been updating their status and posting pictures on Facebook all day and even though I had only seen them two weeks before, I couldn't wait to see them all again.  The bond I have with this group is something I can't even begin to explain.

In Omaha, Dave Bosso (CTSTOY) and I had been warned by previous year STOYs about the horrible coffee, uncomfortable beds and seemingly ubiquitous tater tots.  It was camp after all, so I prepared myself.  I could deal with the tater tots and the beds, it was the coffee I was worried about.

 7am on Saturday morning and we were on the bus headed to the US Space and Rocket Center.  Thanks to my roomie Katie Ferguson, NY STOY, I had a human alarm clock who wouldn't let me miss the bus.  Now that is friendship!  Knowing my proclivity for tardiness (I just get distracted and loose track of time), she was a life saver. Getting to bed after 2am didn't help and we had a full day of events ahead of us.  I didn't care what the coffee tasted like, as long as there was a lot of it.


My roomie and one of my STOY besties Katie.  She helps keep me organized, no easy task! 

Turns out I didn't have to worry about the coffee at all.  When I sent this pic to the previous year STOYs they were very jealous!  Not only was the coffee great even when we were not near the Keurig machine, but the food was awesome.  I didn't see a tater tot (or Tang) all week!

We were greeted by Marsha, the head of the education department who had one of the cutest haircuts ever. 















We were also introduced to Wes Kennedy, fearless leader of Team Harmony. Boy would he have his hands full with our group! He was a great sport throughout and was constantly watching out for us. Space Camp would not have been the same without him and his southern twang.  You ROCK, Wes!











I found out when I arrived that I was on team Harmony, along with Katy and Katie, (this group was going to have fun) and was issued a flight suit for all my missions.  This was serious stuff! I had to add a little flair though, these suits were designed for men.

As you can see, the caffeine finally kicked in as I was laughing again with Katy, MNSTOY.  Actually I do a lot of laughing when I am with Katy, one of my STOY besties, who is one of the funniest people I know.  Team Harmony was going to be awesome as we found out that our other team members were Leigh (UT), Luisa (NE), Chad (HI), Tim (OH), Mark (WA), Elena (OR) Kristen (MO), Adam (MA) and we were joined by Judy from MS, Mak from Singapore and Tyril from Australia.  Here is a picture of our crew.

 

The temps in Huntsville were swamp-like outside, but the air conditioning was working well inside.  We were constantly putting our flight suits on and taking them off, sometimes because we had a mission, but sometimes because we were just cold. Our day was split between missions and classroom activity and I learned more in a week about NASA and space than I have my entire life.  We went from 7:30am to 9:30 pm on most days, but we still found time to have fun.   

Saturday evening we had our opening ceremony with the parade of nations, where we had to dress like someone or something from our state.  Who to choose?  NJ has just as many infamous as famous people so there were plenty to choose from.  However, I can never resist a chance to dress up and anytime you can wear a tiara you should, so I went as Miss America.  The pageant began in Atlantic City in 1921 and although it has moved to Vegas, there is a whole museum-like set of displays at the Convention Center hotel in AC.  I was inspired because I had to pass all the gowns and crowns when I was at the NJEA convention, my coming out party. 

The cool thing about this hall is that above our heads the Saturn V was hanging and spanned the length of the hall.  Wow.  The engines alone are enormous!

                                                 Sunday morning (it certainly didn't feel like a Sunday) we were up and at em at the Low Ropes course.  It was a team building area where we had to work together to figure out some puzzles.  It was kind of like a chess game with real people. 

We got caught in a rain storm and ended up walking back to campus, but we felt like we had accomplished much that morning and the bond in the group grew much stronger. 

                                                  


Later it was back to the classroom to learn about the history of space and then have a class that showed us how to build rockets.  We launched them later that week and I even got to bring mine home.  Would you believe I got it home on an airplane?  Good thing there was no engine in it.   I don't know about everyone else, but I was pretty tired by the end of the day. 

Luisa, Elena and me launching bottle rockets.  We almost hit a car!

Betty Crocker with Betty Rocket

Ready to launch our rockets

While we were doing all this, we also had our missions to train for.  One was the Space Shuttle Atlantis and my job was the flight director at mission control.  When an anomaly happened and things went wrong it was the person in my position who had the final say so on the solution. I volunteered for the position, but my team said that they thought I was perfect for the job.  What a vote of confidence. Just watch Apollo 13, I am the guy with the vest.  It was not easy learning a new language and watching all those screens, but our all female mission control had things in check. 

Here are the women of Harmony practicing earlier in the day.  It is kind of like teaching, you have to be aware of all things at all times.  It wasn't easy deciphering all this information. 

Here we are during our mission. 

   

The week went on from there as we did more classroom stuff, another mission, (this time to the moon on Orion) a little public outreach, had some great guest speakers,  and a whole lot of bonding. 

The Ladies of Harmony

The crew before our Orion mission.  Bring it!

. 

The Pilot (me) and Mission Specialists Elena and Tim

Our Commander, Kristen, and Mission Specialists Leigh and Luisa

Mission Control during Orion.  CapCom Katy looks a little stressed!

 Here we had to design a heat shield.  It could only be about a half inch thick and you had points to purchase the items on the table.  The goal was to protect our egg (the crew) as a blowtorch was set on our shield for three minutes.  When we were done, we had minimal charring, but the egg was still cool to the touch and not cooked!  We were waiting for someone's to explode. 

We also did other classroom experiments to filter water, build a lunar space colony,  and design a landing capsule and rover for an egg that didn't break after dropping it from about 15 feet.  Whew! 

 After dinner one night, it was time for astronaut simulations.  This was not necessarily the best idea since we all had just stuffed ourselves with pizza, but off we went.  The multi-access trainer had me worried, as I tend to get motion sickness, but I figured this may be the only time I get to do this.  Cross it off the bucket list.  Mission accomplished.  We also tried 1/6th gravity chairs to simulate walking on the moon and a jet pack simulation. Try not to laugh too hard at the video.

The view of the shuttle when we left simulation training was great.  Couldn't resist a photo op.

Did I mention there were zip lines?  Oh yes, we did that too.

Of course with this group it would never be all work and no play.  We managed to have a 1980s dance party back at the dorms one night and on our final night there we went to that Huntsville landmark, Olivia's, a karaoke bar.  I don't know if I will ever get the vision of all the STOYs on stage singing We Are the World out of my head....ever.

Graduation was a great event which came too fast.  Where had the week gone?  We had learned so much and had fun, but at the same time the event was bittersweet because we knew that we would soon be departing.  We received our wings, had our name badges turned, and posed for some final pictures.

 But before graduation was over, they gave The Right Stuff award to the person the staff believed was the complete package.  It went to none other than Katy from Minnesota!  The room erupted into thunderous applause and I don't think anyone in the place would argue with the decision to give the award to our own Miss Congeniality.  Katy was overwhelmed by the love.

We parted at the crack of dawn the next day, some of us not having slept at all, but when we did finally reach our homes, I would like to think that most of us went to sleep with hearing the laughter of our fellow STOYs in our heads as we ended an amazing week.  I will see all of them again when they come to NJ in September and I can't wait!

4:30am at the Huntsville Airport.  Heading home!

I had a wedding to get back to that evening.  One of my former students, Yvette, who graduated in 2002 and has been largely responsible for my great wardrobe this year, was getting married.  I wouldn't have missed it for the world, but you will have to wait a week to find out how it went and learn about the note waiting for me when I got home.