Birthday thoughts!

And we are back after losing all our great blog starts! Now I feel rushed, but that's okay. I can practice that "magic energy" that comes from freewriting under a time crunch. It's been a great day and I've enjoyed every minute of it, especially the discussion on Parker Palmer's book. I can't wait to keep reading and discussing it with our group next week, and will need to force myself to allow time for all the other reading assignments, too.

The reason I loved the discussion is that it brought back memories of some of my previous teaching environments and invited me to think about what makes them good and what makes them crummy. I've taught at several of each and have learned a great deal from all of them. During the discussion, I talked about my fabulous experience at Middlebury High School in Vermont, but there is one school that sticks out even more, Sandy Spring Friends School in Sandy Spring, Maryland.

SSFS is a Quaker school and my husband and I lived and taught there for a number of years. Parker Palmer is Quaker, and right now the connections that are exploding in my mind are too numerous to write about at this late hour in the day. The Quaker approach to education mirrors so many of Palmer's points. I'm also thinking about a book someone gave me years ago called "The Tao of Teaching." Have any of you heard of this book or read it? When I read it the first time, it really struck a chord so I need to go back and explore why.

Many might think that a dentist appt, all-day class, and a 100+ page reading assignments might be a depressing way to spend one's birthday, but I will disagree with that. It's been a wonderful birthday so far, and though the reading will be long, I look forward to it (once I've had my birthday dinner with the family at Casa!)