I have been away to Seattle for most of the week at an Arts School Network meeting. Teachers from all over the country were attending to learn, swap stories, and advocate the hell out of the meeting hall. The break was nice on several levels. I got a chance to step away from my day to day and catch my breath – – perhaps thinking how Monday’s return would clear the air and start anew. This trip also made me very grateful for what I have. One of the best features of the conference is the ability to go to other high schools in the middle of a school day and just witness how their classes go down: the kind of expectations, camaraderie, and rigor they contour up. Sometimes I am a bit nervous going to these events – worried that I am going too find that I have been doing wrong all the time. Read more