Why am I writing this personal entry? Well, it is not an attempt to gain any sympathy. It attempts to show what is possible if a clear intention and goal serve the learner's needs. In May of 2022 just near the end of another fantastic school year, I do not remember what happened. But, I was unable to finish the school year and was unable to teach the following year. Why? On May 21st, 2022, I fell down a flight of 16 stairs (luckily carpeted) from the 2nd to 1st story of our home. I was found at the bottom of the stairs. I was found foaming at the mouth. This would lead to a 2-month hospital stay which included an induced coma because my seizures would not stop, several rounds of lumbar punctures, and relearning basic physical movements like something as simple as being able to roll in the hospital bed. Simply put, when I was admitted to the hospital, I was diagnosed as being “critically ill.” Please take a moment and read those words: critically ill. They are not terms...
Having been an educator for 15 years now, I have been to many professional development sessions. Most of them had been uninspiring. This clip is a perfect example of bad PD. (So, the clip I had planned on putting in here would be entirely inappropriate for any blog intended for general audiences. It is without a doubt the greatest monologue from the past 50 years - either in the stage play or the film adaptation. But, again, entirely inappropriate. So in its place, here's a more tame but still edgy version. Please forgive the ad at the front end of the clip.) I was lucky enough to be a part of a great professional development opportunity today presented by the School District of Menomonee Falls. The professional development was focused around the continuous classroom improvement model, CCI, the district has implemented within all classrooms K-12 and across all components of the district operations from facilities management to...