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Thank You for 20 Years.

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After 20 years of teaching at Brookfield Central, I am saying goodbye. Although I spent the majority of that time in the physics classroom alongside my learners. That changed for my last 18 weeks. I ended up in a place similar to where I started, teaching chemistry and biology. So, rather than dealing with juniors and seniors at the end of their high school careers, I was in classrooms with freshmen and sophomores still trying to find their place. At the same time, I was learning and teaching a set curriculum I hadn't taught in over a decade. So, we were learning. But, of course, I already knew the content.  The point of this post is to take a step back, take in, and share the gratitude from the last students I had in my 20 years at Brookfield Central High School through the cards and notes they made for me on my last day with them.  I don't take many yay me moments. But after 20 years, I think I'll soak this one in.
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Do Collaborate

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Yesterday, I saw two of my favorite people move on to new chapters in their educational journey. Angela Patterson and Kate Sommerville exemplify what it means to be a change agent in education. Their work has inspired my efforts to transform my classroom.  So, what is so special about them? They “do”. They had an idea and they did it.  Their idea was to build a learning community in which each learner's individuality was recognized and celebrated as a source of strength for all. They changed the physical, academic, and emotional space of their learning environment. But, they did it in only a few months’ time. They understood that the perfect moment will never come along and the plan will never be perfect.  It’s the goal that matters. They helped show me that planning is important but the journey doesn’t really begin until you are doing it.

Don’t get me wrong, you need a plan before you do.  Kate and Angela are meticulous planners. But, they move quickly.  If you don’t plan well you end up wasting precious resources.  But waiting wastes your most precious resource, time.

They have taught me that the biggest risks are the most rewarding. They also taught me that the bigger the risk the more you need to collaborate. As a person who is very much a loner, this is a tough one.  It’s not easy for me to ask for help from others. I’ve learned, though, that by inviting the right people on your journey will make it the results exponentially better.

My collaborations allowed me to do great things this year.






My professional collaboration with Kate and Angela allowed us to present on Pear Deck at SLATE conference.













This year has been "The Year of Do” but it couldn’t have been done if it also wasn’t "The Year of Collaborate”.  





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