OP/Ed and the TRIB

To my public educators out there: I know what we teach in the classroom is much, much more important than just reading and writing and math. This article is for you, and me, and everyone who works hard to raise the next generation of Americans.

If you would like to read the article check out The Salt Lake Tribune, today's page A11, or www.sltrib.com, opinion section. P.S. Public education vs. private/charter schools is kind of a hot topic where I live - it's okay if you don't agree with anything I say. I was just really excited that the SL Trib picked up my article! You'll notice the article running right above mine is lifted from a New York Times writer, awesome. I'm close to something big. haha

There are a lot of comments on my article, some good some bad, but the beauty of writing is that it starts a dialogue. My favorite comment is from someone who says he was going to keep this perspective in mind as he goes to the cacususes. Yay for participating in the Democratic process.

1000 Photographs Later

This is what I wore today while being photographed by a BYU photographer.

The BYU Today magazine is publishing a short piece I wrote for their Spring 2012 edition. Part of what I wrote had to do with being a teacher, so they wanted to get a photograph of me in the classroom.

My students were really good about having a photographer lurking around the room. They even volunteered to run and get blow dryers so my hair would be flowing like in a hair commericial. I asked them to please act natural, and they were really suprisngly good. I guess we'll see next time how much they learned about writing research outlines while I was being photographed teaching them.

Two class periods and a 1000 pictures later, I hope at least one of the photos looks decent so I don't die of embarrassment when the magazine comes out. I guess I should be more worried about my writing than what I look like, but sometimes I make funny faces when I teach.

The UP Award

We don't pat ourselves on the back enough, and we can't wait for others to do so either, or we may be waiting a very long time. So, I'm just going to nominate and award myself the UP Award for having the remarkable, and it is, ability to keep my spirits up when life does its darndest to get me down. Yay me. Way to show life it can't get you. Way to set your sights always UP above the mess and seek for happy horizons on which to settle.