In The Heights is awesome--very inspirational and fun. It's a worthy companion to Gatsby. Both explore the power+burden of dreams, power(lessness), how the past pressures the future, and the story of aspirational America. The characters from ITH are *much* more likeable though.

I love reading Lin-Manuel Miranda 's annotations from In The Heights. These two notes show that sometimes writers craft + build forward (streetlight metaphor) and sometimes they craft+build backwards (rewriting based on a finish). Writing is a puzzle of choices.

At Lake Michigan, kickin' it

Senior rite of passage #1 is in the books for my 17yo. Going to be a year of waterworks for me, though.

M.Buber on friendship,but it applies to teaching: The greatest thing any person can do for another is to confirm the deepest thing in them-to take the time+have the discernment to see what's most deeply there, most fully that person,+then confirm it by recognizing+encouraging it.

Just got to read the latest MHS Chronicle & found this gem in Risha's profile of Tim King: "We always try to make it harder than it is, but the study of teaching is just love and patience." I'm thankful to work with so many who live this out and lead with their hearts.

My Eng3 students sent some arguments into the world about mental health and HS reform. Jonathan Cooper, Bobby Dodd, + Charles Galvin were quick to be responsive and engage with their ideas. It really helped empower my students' voices to know they were heard.

A wonderful meditation on the ambiguity that makes teaching so wonderfully challenging. And some great artwork.

Great reminder from author Anthony Doerr in this interview--pay attention to what you pay attention to. flip.it/J8NjVn

Great example of why critical reading matters, whether the text is simple or complex. The push by politicians to regulate classroom libraries is riddled with this type of willful, dishonest misreading.

Rushdie, on the power of story. From Azar Nafisi's new book, Read Dangerously: The Subversive Power of Literature in Troubled Times.

Proud papa moment... She's worked super hard to keep growing and get a chance. Fun team win!

Yes: “Grades are not a representation of student learning, as hard as it is for us to break the mindset that if the student got an A it means they learned."

Good note from Eugene Peterson in my reading today: "Speaking to people does not have the same personal intensity as listening to them." Second quarter goal: build in more time each week to listen

Thanks to Curt Bly for planning a great day for our students to grow a love for books, the literary community, and independent bookstores that foster both things.

For any runners looking for a spring event, my son's Scout troop is hosting a 2 or 4 mile run in Lebanon that features a variety of surfaces and elevation changes. Date is March 18. You can register here: runsignup.com/Race/OH/Lebano…

Our Best Sellers classes loved seeing The Book Loft and getting stocked up with books and reading ideas today. Great trip planned by Curt Bly!

NPR is right--McCarthy books are "stark and dark." But also hopeful--lots of students have connected with The Road over the years because it shows how "the good guys" who "carry the fire" can survive in a bleak world. npr.org/2023/06/13/598…

from a Wendell Berry poem: "... so they may speak what is true, and have patience for beauty..." Good synopsis of what we're up to in language arts.

Mason High School showing the strength of our unity and dedication to the betterment of education. We will continue to work towards creating the environment needed to best support our students.