I’ve been trying to retire for 3 years now, but my school district’s leaders, in particular Dr. Kenneth Parker, keep finding tasks for me to do that I just can’t resist.  The idea of starting a school from scratch was irresistible, and I’m happy to say the charter high school is up and running–wonderful teachers, wonderful students doing good work.  You couldn’t ask for more, well, except for a site that looks like a high school, but we’re working on that.

What snagged me this year was Ken’s request that I facilitate an Introduction to Teaching class for 11th graders.  I’ve been able to design the curriculum, using my common sense and experience to create a seminar for studying the Art of Teaching that includes real-life experiences so the students can apply what is learned.  This excites me to no end.  And it gets even better.  I have seven high school juniors who have chosen to take this class because they would like to become teachers some day.

From the first day, the class has come alive for me–the students and I are exploring research, current trends, and best practices to try to visualize education at its best.  How lucky are we?