grandchildren

Wow these children represent the future--the future looks BRIGHT!! I will see Eric soon and continue on this new trip of being a grandparent

Ending

Yesterday the Head of School accepted my resignation as the Head Cross Country Coach at Berkshire School after the 2012 season.  I was an assistant under Twiggs Myers for 16 years and will have been the Head Coach for 18 years.  As the realization of not being actively affiliated with cc hits me I am a bit emotional because having run for 5 years in high school and junior high, trying to run successfully in college, finishing a 26 mile 385 yard obligatory marathon, running for 35 years recreationally, coaching 4 New England Prep School Championship teams, and having 6 undefeated seasons I know that I am not the young man who started my coaching at Berkshire in 1979.  We had a 63 meet win streak during the 6 years that my two sons ran for me and those heady days were wonderful, but the most important memory is of the harriers who persevered for whom running was very difficult.  Imagine finishing in 30 minutes in a race that was won in 16 minutes. Parents of the boy struggling to the finish line were always just as proud as the parents of those who completed their trek as like Mercury.  It is the effort that matters.  

I am sad that my time is up in this endeavor, but I know it is time.  Teaching in the classrooms of Berkshire Hall has become a passion that inspires me and the use of technology to engage the students is a new challenge that excites me. Old guard teachers/coaches need to let the young take over--but teaching is my domain and the young, bright, history teacher in the wings will have to wait to replace me for a few years, while I try and try and try to not ever be boring.

News

I am sitting in my home in Sandwich Mass after writing a letter to an educator who worked at Berkshire School with me during my first 4 years.  He has four kids and is dying of cancer.  Life is never dull if you step out of your safety zone and reach for challenges.  I say challenge for this teacher and I did not get along for reasons of arrogance and ignorance.  He did not think Westfield State College grads should be at private schools as teachers.  I was not good enough, and I had a wife and son while he was single so we were at different social levels.  Anyways I wrote him a letter on plain notebook paper . (the contents are personal)  I write this for it is a short life that we have - and reaching out to a fellow educator in need, even if that person would not invite you into his house, is the right thing to do.

Be considerate of others and your conscience will be good to you.

patience

I have a new cell phone--I just got back from a tech in the classroom workshop, and we have a new Internet TV.  This amazing amount of Technology can be overwhelming so my advice is to keep trying a little bit each day and remember that trial and error really works.

Peace

PEACE

Seeing the shooting in Colorado makes one realize the short time we spend on this earth.  It is important to notice the trees, the sky, the ocean-stream-lake, the stars, but most of all the people .

I teach history and I always tell my students that "War is the ultimate insult to the intelligence of man kind."  This shooting is a vivid example of the complexity of the problems caused by violence, and I hope that some how the leaders of the world become less centered on their own wealth and power and begin to think about the people they actually govern.

Peace should not need to be written in stone: it should be imprinted on every person's brain.

Inspiration

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=aw-nt0eTb2w
This is an inspiring short film about seeing the glass half full not half empty.

fatherhood

Just wanted to end the day with two pictures of which I am proud.

How could anything be better!!!

Cape Cod Day

We had a wonderful day in Sandwich--we biked the canal to Flynn's Pub which was just awarded the title

Best Pub on Cape Cod - 2012

I had a beer and Deb drank a glass of wine.  The seafood on the grill was great and the beach walks were peaceful--July is one fantastic month to begin to prepare the mind for my 34th year as a teacher.

 These pictures display the day.

77

Friday the 13th worked out well for my golf game.  I played WCC and posted the best score of my life.  43 on the front nine which is not bad, but not spectacular.  I thought I was on my way to an 88 to 90.  Then Birdy-Par-Birdy-Par-Birdy and I got nervous.  Playing with Tim ( manager of Stadium Systems) and his son was fun for they were getting excited also.  Any ways I ended up with a 34 on the back nine and a 77.  My best this year had been 83 prior to that round.  After lunch I took off for Cape Cod with my wife and the Yankees won in the last two innings.  A great day.

 These good people celebrated my "77"

After my First Kayak Trip

I successfully launched and used the new kayak on Twin Lakes and I am ready to take my wife.  I am still not sure how to get out of it if we flip over, but I looks like you should calmly push your legs out from under and let the floatation life jacket bring you to the surface.  The lake was very calm so no problem today. As you can see my grandson Eric was never worried.

Before the Kayak attempt

How to get into and out of a Kayak

I have just posted the link from the REI school that I watched before going to try our new Kayak on Twin Lakes in Ct.  If it worked I will come back alive and report how my first kayak trip went. 

 This is a test to see if I could copy and paste info for my students:  My friend and I are very glad that it worked!


Essay expectations for US History Students at Berkshire School. (Most of the students in US History are juniors)

 A. Introduction (at least 3 three sentences but often this is not sufficient.)
1. Clear description of topic
 2. A concise thesis Statement—this this will include specific historical points the illustrate the point of the paper.
3. Excellent quotations often enhance the quality of introductory paragraphs. This often separates great from mediocre papers—use credible sources!

 B. Body 1. Clearly written paragraphs that provide supporting evidence to the thesis. 2. Counter arguments should be described and disproved when appropriate. 3. Body paragraphs should include factual material and proper citations.

 C. Conclusion 1. Re-emphasize the thesis statement with more evidence to prove the author’s point.

 D. In non-testing situations a works cited page is required.

Still on Cape Cod with my Wife Deb and we are extremely happy with the food, the ocean, the canal, the outdoor activity, and the closeness it brings to us as a couple.  I have continued to check out web sites that will help me teach and the Sweet Search Site is very good.    It only lists sources that are credible so the kids will learn the best sources.

Thanks to Greg Kulowiec I can print in colors-------I am still learning options and it is trial and error that is working best in creating this blog for my students to use in September.  Right now I am still having a great summer for a teacher. 
above is a pic of the sun over Cape Cod bay that I took.   Thanks to the edtechteacher guys.

July on the Cape

I am currently enjoying Cape Cod and I am hosting two other teachers who have been married one year. Sharing stories about how we use technology in the classroom has helped me try to implement more great stuff into my planning. Sharing the 4th of July in Sandwich has been awesome. The best fireworks ever--2 hours of non-stop explosions in front of a full moon--wow. Golfing: here are the scores Young teacher 74 - old teacher (me) 97. In golf the scores do not matter if you are not earning a paycheck--so it was great fun. Once again I can not remember how to do color printing.

Due to the advice I received at a recent workshop I am rethinking the my role as a teacher. It is good to share with other educators and just yesterday I met a teacher and have sent them several web sites that help teachers. Below are two sites for helping coaches and teachers. One shows short videos of dynamic stretching which seems a better way to warm-up than stagnant stretching. The other has several great links to helpful teaching sites. I hope you give these a try if your are interested. Also here are pics of my newest Grandchild----Summerly & Eric.

One shows short videos of dynamic stretching which seems a better way to warm-up than stagnant stretching. The other has several great links to helpful teaching sites. I hope you give these a try if your are interested. http://edtechteacher.ning.com/group/thwt-workshop-harvard-2012 http://www.builtlean.com/2011/04/06/dynamic-stretching-routine-best-full-body-warm-up/