The early arriving, late afternoon darkness of autumn… a perfect time to be reminded of the hot, hot summer wedding day! So after a long and patient wait for our talented wedding photographer, here are some selected photos from The Day. And if you try just hard enough, I’m sure you can practically feel the sweat dripping from our faces. Lovely. And I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way…
Scene from an 8th grade homeroom at the end of the school day, with only a few remaining students waiting to hear their bus numbers announced on the intercom.
The female homeroom teacher, up until that point tidying up around the room, pausing to sit with one of her 8th graders who sat with her head in her hands. Just musing and passing the time. And one of those ideal places to check in and connect with a student on a personal level.
The student began the conversation.
Ms, the student says wistfully, I’m sad because people keep on telling me that I look like I’m thirty.
Dirty?, the teacher responds, still distracted by the hundred and one things left remaining to do at the end of the day.
Noooo..., the girl wails with a mix of fake shock and an embarrassed smile. Thirty! People tell me that I look like I’m thirty!
No, the teacher says with as much motherly reassurance she can muster. You’re still beautiful. You’re not thirty. Don’t worry… you’re a beautiful blonde, she adds as a verbal salve. A well-intentioned compliment from one woman to another young one.
A pause in the conversation as the student works the idea in her head.
Um, I’m a red-head, she says with a sigh.
Yes, I can stand behind the verb ‘doing.’ Or ‘slow jogging.’ Or depending on who was on the course temporarily alongside me as they sped on their way, ‘fast walking.’ So sure, this guy is a bit aways from the days of sprint triathlon fitness (come back, those days!), but I was happy to finish in one piece at a pokey pace averaging about 9 minutes a mile in the perfect cool, fall weather this Saturday. But as Sarah gently reminded me, being able to finish after only doing a couple of sparse training runs beforehand was pretty good. (LOVE having a wife).
But most essentially, an important reason to dust off the running shoes. A great fundraiser cause for the Boston Community Leadership Academy and its upcoming spring trip to Europe to visit a number of Holocaust historical sites. Take a look at their website here and donate to the efforts!
You have to have at least one fall getaway, right? And while it doesn’t exactly qualify for the requisite, autumnal drive out to western Mass (still have plans for that one), how great to head first to Peterborough, New Hampshire for a long bike ride and then up north with friends for a bit of camping and hiking off the Kancamagus. Nothing quite like taking full advantage of a perfect-weather three day weekend.
Pausing During the 40 Mile Ride is Needed When You Have 4,000+ in Elevation Gain
A Packed Lunch Ain't So Bad Either
A Leisurely Three Mile Hike In to the Campsite on the East Pemi Side Trail
Foliage Along the East Pemi Trail
Heroic River Crossing from C Carrying the cousin and M Alongside
Short Waterfall Hike After Two Stream Crossings
Making the Most of a Warmer-Than-Usual Fall Day, Streamside
Hiking Out...Burgers in Town on the Mind
So it’s hard not to feel that immediacy of loss, even never having met the man. But still, I felt it on hearing the news–not just in consideration of the reach of all things Apple, but moreso for the narrative that suggested that through a certain form, finesse and simplicity, technology could change so much. A whole transformative medium for experiencing and interacting with the world. You just have to respect the power of the idea and a realized vision. A remarkable person.
It’s been brewing for a little while now, but it’s hard to pinpoint exactly when it began. Perhaps after the cumulative years of experience at the Boston Day and Evening Academy and Boston Community Leadership Academy, and the opportunity in those pilot schools to learn about and experience teacher leadership roles. Or maybe catalyzed by the incredible opportunities to be a Teaching Ambassador Fellow through the federal Department of Education, and to serve on the standards revision committee for social studies/history for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Or developed over the past few years in my role as a teacher-on-assignment in my district’s Peer Assistance program, taking advantage of the access to both Boston Teachers Union and Boston Public Schools leadership.
All I know is that over my years as a teacher, now in my thirteenth year, I feel all the more compelled to nurture and create opportunities for teachers to connect and professionally develop together. And after good conversations with G, one of the editors of the monthly Boston Union Teacher paper, I’ve officially started up The Teaching Pulse at www.theteachingpulse.org. Take a look! I’d love to hear what you think and to spread the word.
And once we get some good people on the forum, the plan is to start reaching out more broadly. These outreach cards are in the mail.
Want to give some input to the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education about the role teacher feedback will play in principal evaluation? Attend the local Boston Teach Plus event described below!
Appetizers, Beverages, & Registration: 4:45-5:15pm
Program: 5:15pm – 6:45pm
City Year Headquarters
287 Columbus Ave, Boston, MA 02116
(Map with parking and nearby T stations here)
You’ve told us that principals matter. Now weigh in on how YOUR feedback will impact their evaluations. Massachusetts is revamping its teacher and administrator evaluation systems and teacher feedback will now play a part in how principals are evaluated. At this event, you are invited to share your unique perspective as a classroom teacher on the content and structure of what this administrator evaluation should look like.
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is looking for feedback from groups of stakeholders (such as teachers) on what this important tool should do and how teacher feedback should be incorporated. You will have the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues on recommendations that will be delivered directly to state and district leaders working to design new educator evaluation models, including Karla Baehr, former Deputy Commissioner of Education, who is heading this initiative for the state. Ross Wilson, BPS Assistant Superintendent in the Office of Teacher and Leadership Effectiveness, and members of his strategy team will also be present to hear your ideas.
During this event you will have the chance to learn about proposed changes and engage in roundtable discussions with other teachers about:
By the end of this year, districts will be working to design a principal evaluation instrument that includes a teacher feedback component. Give input now while this tool is still in development!
Appetizers, beer, wine, and other beverages will be served.
After a moving memorial meeting for DB, I was fortunate to have the chance to head north a bit with Sarah for a stay near Crane beach and the Inn at Castle Hill, a jewel of the Trustees of Reservations. For many reasons, but most importantly in celebration of a birthday, it was a gift to get away. The original plans were to do some late season camping on the Cape, but the weather forecasts weren’t looking too promising. And the fall back of an evening and morning at the Inn, imagining coffee and non-school related reading with the rain coming down, sounded pretty darn good.
Getting A View of the Grounds from the Great House at the Crane Estate
View of the Great House from the Casino Buildings
And it was, even though the promised rain ended up being replaced by unseasonably warm and humid weather. A pre-arrival visit to the Ipswich Clam Box and a nearby ice-cream stand was a great place to start. And a glass of wine in the near empty Inn, with all of the other guests dining elsewhere, themselves part of the annual fall retreat for board members, even better. The day after was pretty good too. The non-alarmed wake up and some pre-breakfast darkroast in the room, along with an Inn-supplied copy of the Times. Fresh pastries and fruit, waffles with walnut syrup, scrambled eggs and juice. An unexpected personal tour of the Crane Great House on the property by the head innkeeper, and then the rest of the morning exploring the grounds and the nearly empty white sandy beach. Exploration around Ipswich center and an open house tour of a restored First Period home nearby. And the drive home, stopping at the end to take in the last of the JP art market which took place over the weekend. So good to get away.
Walking Along Crane Beach, Indian Summer Day
A Stretch of Empty Crane Beach
A few days ago and after a long battle with ALS, Brother Dave passed away, one of the kindest, most loving and most intelligent people I have ever met. And after a simple sentence, I’m at such a loss. Helplessly looking at the blinking cursor on the computer screen. Pulsing. Waiting. Because how can I sum up the scope and depth of a person who I have looked up to so much for the past ten years of my life? It’s impossible to express how much he cared for and shepherded me with the simplest of conversations, a shared verse or a prayer. And for all those bright Saturday mornings when we gathered in his home and made so many of us feel like his own family, burdening us (in the best of ways) with the care of the junior high, high school and college kids in the area churches.
The Best of Joys--Photo Courtesy of his Daughter H
You will be forever missed. Thank you, Dave. For everything.
Here is a link to the blog that one of his daughters writes, a testimony itself.
And a psalm.
Psalm 73:23-26
Lord, I am continually with Thee:
Thou hast holden me by my right hand
Thou shalt guide me-
Thou shalt guide me with Thy counsel,
And afterward receive me-
Receive me to glory.
Whom have I in heaven but Thee?
And there is none upon the earth
That I desire beside Thee.
My flesh and my heart faileth;
But God is the strength of my heart,
And my portion forever.
What Not to Do With Squirrels
Apparently, you’re not supposed to sit on stumps in autumnal reflection with them. Darn.
In Car with Girl, No Squirrel = Good
Hiking In Nature with Girl, no Squirrel = Good
Checking Out Leaves, No Girl, With Squirrel = No Good
Bonus:
Oil Repellent Sweaters for Penguins-- Who Knew?