I'm an Aquarian so the Waterways are Centralizing, Sanitizing, Calming, & Necessary to My Soul. Thankful to Each & Every Time I Can Gaze at the Water

I grew up on lakes. Fishing. Swimming, Watching the way the natural world fuels its soul at the greatness of water. I've always found calm on beaches, watching waves, walking on sand, and starrng into the reality that so much water is what this world is made of...we need it to stay alive. Last night, I had the fortune to walk to Walnut Beach to celebrate Bev's retirement, but also to process a rather ugly day. Such views matter. The peace one finds along the water is what keeps me mentally stable and focused.

Long before I was here and long after I depart, I hope that waterways sooth the serenity of other souls. As I age and lose the energy of a life well lived, I hope to always channel the beauty of where sky, water, and land meet. I love the light, the colors, the importance, and the balance of such a world (one that has been off kilter for the entirety of human life, but definitely off its rocker in the last decade or so). 

I need more time to sit and think...to rest my brain...to calm my nerves...and to settle a restless soul. This morning, I am simply thinking about how important such moments are.

I am looking to the Great Whatever for more answers, better humans, a stronger guidance to cherish life on a planet....one planet of many where art, ideas, dialogue, and democracy are possible.

I am counting my blessings, but also very aware of the ugliness in others. And I'm trying to make sense of it on a Saturday morning, where I'm feeling powerless against the stupidity of it all. A scene like this, though, gives me hope. 

Hope, that pesky lil' evil left in Pandora's box, is all we have left.

So Happy for My Dear Friend, Beverly Robinson, and Her Retirement Today from Campus. She Represents All that Is Good & Right, Just, & Kind. Wishing the Best Her Way.

I stopped by Beverly Robinson's office yesterday to deliver flowers so she can plant them outside her home. I told her, "Yes, you're my friend, but I also appreciate you as a colleague and champion for students. You've been the face and voice for so many of our graduate students and you deserve tremendous recognition and applause simply because you are wonderful."

Tonight, we celebrate her with a friendship toast over tequila.

When I think about the people I work with ... the good ones...the fair ones, and the believers of  kindnesss and doing right by students, staff, and faculty, I think about Beverly Robinson. She has always been dedicated, loyal to the mission, humorous, and willing to step up for the team. 

It saddens me to know she is retiring from our campus and today is her last day, but I also know she deserves to say, "Adios" to the work. I am a better human being knowing she was in the Kelly Center. I'm fortunate that I learned young that most locations are built by such individuals who are often the unsung heroes behind the scene. I'm thankful she and her husband became my friends and I love all the time we spend together off campus.

Bev deserves this retirement, as she's always been a fantastic person for all who know her: a great mother, a witty mind, an irreplaceable friend, and a dedicated employee. 

I'm happy that after today she is free from the day-to-day grind. She can now concentrate on harassing Leo's eating habits, enjoy more beach time, love her wonderful sons even more than she already does, and rest her mind with good books, movies, series, and jokes.

She is beyond deserving.

Congratulations, Bev Robinson (here's to you, Mrs. Robinson). All love and appreciation for a great woman! I'm looking forward to celebrating more tonight.

Then There is the Bussing Metaphor of What @WritingProject Directors Do to Make Literacy Opportunities Possible

Being a National Writing Project site director is a business, as well as a job with scholarly intentions. Writing grants make opportunities possible, but getting kids to locations costs money and introduces conundrums the every day scholar tends not to know. What is a district's policy? Who do they contract with? How do they get paid? How do arrangements get made? It's something, and every district has its own policies. We teach, we research, we plan, we offer ourselves to service, we do professional development, and we figure out ways to make things happen.

I spent yesterday arranging buses for eight schools to have students transported to the University for an author day, where they can come to Fairfield University for writing and scholastic opportunity. I was thinking of my older sister who works with busing companies all the time and I had to wonder, does she know how drastically different every school district is? I'm not sure if she has to pay the drivers, but I do, and there's never a single, easy way to accomplish this! The layers of each school meets the layers of my own. Thick...thick payers.

Ah, but if it is good for kids, I'll figure it out. I've already learned it's best to have a go-to person to work with....it will be difficult, but a good contact makes it easier.

This is the unseen work of doing good for young people. I imagine any K-12 teacher trying to arrange this (and I'm thinking about senior trips to St. Augustine and summer visits to Roskilde, Denmark, on this). It would be much, much easier to say, "Forget about it. The kids won't get the opportunity," but that isn't the way good teaching occurs. You strive so they can thrive. 

I am definitely more gray after yesterday, but we have transportation mostly arranged. Now I have to deal with the University systems to make sure all the bus drivers get paid. Who knew grant-writing and having success would be this monstrous? Wait. I do, because I've been doing it for over 13 years. Trust me...it's not easy and it is unpaid work that makes you think you're going mad. 

And it is only one of the i's crossed and one t's dotted. But for 100+ kids, it is worth it. I'm looking forward to every second. 

I Aim to Share the Beautiful @initiative211 Recognition of a Divergent Award with the K-12 Brilliance That Makes @cwpfairfield Work Possible

Last night I had dinner with teacher David Wooley, sharing his excellence and hard work in K-12 teaching. David participated in CWP-Fairfield's teacher leadership institute in 2016 and was quick to bring his hip-hop integrity to the cohort. He's been a stellar, connected mind for national efforts and truly represents the best in writing instruction: diversity, inclusivity, and empowerment to the next generation of thinkers. He brings his teachers-teaching-teachers way to Westhill High School in Stamford, and is always willing to offer professional development, share classroom achievement, and provide summer opportunities for Connecticut youth. Ah, and he is retiring in 2024!!! (sort of). Dave's an emblem of the great work K-12 teachers do and absolutely is deserving of the Implementation Award given to the CWP-Fairfield team. 

 We love National Writing Project teachers who believe that the best way to improve K-12 writing instruction is the result of an investment from University, national, and local collaborations that bring effective literacy practices to the next generation. Dave represents the best of the nation...a product of SUNY Albany English Education.

Here's to him. So wonderful to have dinner in his home last night and to have an opportunity to share the recognition we received for teacher leadership and youth programming. He is a champion who strives for excellence in our nation's schools. He's also a master at the grill (but I'm not sure he's ready to host all of us in the National Writing Project network just yet...although we'd be better people from a conversation he'd bring to the table)

Happy Wednesday and National Teacher Appreciation Week. 

Celebrating the Beauty of Mathematical Literacies and Teaching. The Class of 2025 with Dr. KImberly Barbara and Her Excellence

We had out our annual Celebration of Teaching and Teachers, with 36 student teachers have met the requirements of student teaching, supervision, certification, and EdTPA, including the stellar mathematicians from Fairfield University mentored by Dr. Kimberly Barba. 

We had our cupcakes, vegetables, fruit, hummus, and cheese platters, but more importantly is the joy that comes from supervision, mentorship, guidance, and student relationships of several schools in southern Connecticut. This is true for special educators, English educators, science educators, and teachers in elementary education. The amount of curriculum, guidance, love, passion, and hard work they've had to give to get a license in Connecticut is immeasurable (and impressive). The impact they will have for generations and generations of young people is simply beautiful, too. 

It was 1996 when I chose not to attend my own commencement, but finished a teaching certification, is coupled with my choice to stay behind for two more years and to completed a second Masters degree. I was fortunate to start at the top of a Kentucky pay scale. I said to the student teachers last night, that they, too, will balance next steps, new directions, and greater opportunities in the choices they make. 

We do this for kids. We want the best. We hope for a better world. Teaching is a life choice and a super power. 

We empty the ocean with a fork as fast as we can, with or without the institutional bureaucracies that aid us or hinder what we're able to do. 

At the heart of what we do it absolute heart. 

If I could stand on a platform that anyone would pay attention to, it would be to advocate for better schools and the best teachers that choose this profession. We don't have or live a glamorous life, but we all deserve better respect, support, and resources to help us achieve.

It's National Teachers Week and my new motto is, "I deserve better. We deserve better." 

It might be my 2024-2025 t-shirt. But for now, onward.

Year 13 of Hosting a Celebration of Teachers and Teaching at Fairfield University. Tonight, We Applaud Our Student Teachers

As a newbie...a fledgling...the University asked me to help assist the Celebration of Teachers and Teaching with a few senior colleagues. One by one, they've each retired without being replaced, and I've kept the tradition alive. Our students spend a semester in the field, contend with supervision, graduate classes, and more recently EdTPA, and return at the end for next steps in certification and a Capstone project. It is our opportunity to applaud their hard work, the labor of the supervisors, and the graciousness of the hosting schools. 

We are going forward with this tonight and I'm super happy to have Dr. Michelle Farrell to open the ceremony with a teaching talk. I also am thrilled to debut cupcakes from Sonia's. a local bakery that I love to support whenever I can...who doesn't love gourmet cupcakes?

The students will then have two more weeks to recover before the last class which is to get everything ready for the job market. 

Ah, but tonight we have cake (and if you want a story behind this blog post that is a story of everything I know to be true about this tradition and its support for our students feel free to give me a call. The behind the scenes stories are always more fun.

Cold and rainy in Connecticut. Many errands to run today and then there's the grading...always always looming in the background. It's Monday y'all. That's the way it always goes.

Another Successful Pam-Derby, 60th Birthday & Horse Race by a Nose. Always a Wonderful Kentucky Tradition to Carry with Me Wherever I Go

Pam won the race with Mystik Dan, but of course this was the first year we didn't wage bets. We just grabbed horses and said, "no pot, bet for fun." And her horse won. We should have done cash bets.

It was a great celebration on Walnut Beach, although when the sun went under the clouds it was freezing. These old bones needed to sit in a running car to warm up. But it does kick off the good food season, wherever people have picnics and the summer comfort food comes in stereo. Hear! Hear! the fig jam and brie cheese on crackers. I'm in love.

I didn't get any grading done, because I needed to pick up gourmet cupcakes for Monday, run horse prints for the race, and get a good cream for the coleslaw. It was wonderful to see all the relatives, grandkids, friends, and laughter over pulled pork, hamburgers, hotdogs, and salads. Katelyn and Patrick did a great job pulling together a celebration.

Leo painted the sign. 

I returned home, too, to new releases by Penguin Random House which was an absolute joy. And everyone was out getting garden goods at Home Depot. I don't know why people do this on nice days. They should go when it is dreary and keep it at their home for when it is nice instead of facing the crowds on beautiful days. 

But today it rains, so I grade. It's a good thing. I need a slow day to catch up on a semester that has wiped me out. I ate enough yesterday for the week. 

Here's to slowing down a little for a while (he types, knowing it is rarely a style he knows). Day of rest. We'll try.