Day 90

Last night I got to meet with about 50% of the parents of the kiddos I get to teach. Wowzers, what an awesome time. I cannot say there was any conversation that didn't make me appreciate my place in the classroom. In fact, there were more than a handful of times when I had to hold back tears from chats that inspired me to holdfast to a desire to stay in the classroom. There are some who would try to convince me that the next logical step for my career would be to graduate from these four walls to an administrative position that allowed me to strategically replicate what I do with a group of 30 kids to a greater scale. I get that, I do, but when Michael Jordan was at the peak of his game (I know, I know - I'm not as cool as Mike) noone was trying to turn him into a coach. There are too many good hearted folks who are treat the classroom as a transitional role that's only as good as their resume needs it to be. That's just not me. There is a far greater number of people who will burn out after a handful of years because, in part, they never got a chance to see someone who enjoyed being in the classroom for more than a decade. There are kiddos who will not have a constant male role model in the form of a classroom teacher and I want to continue being that for their sake. Ladies and gentlemen of the press (imagine me holding a press conference to announce my decision for the next school year sitting with my wife and my agent) I am hereby declaring my commitment to stay in the classroom. So where's my signing bonus?

That's enough of that. Back to bows. Today's bow is another great find on Beau Ties Ltd. of Vermont. I found a coordinating pair of kicks a couple of years back that I just had to bust out today. Throw in the fresh pair of spectacles and a denim vest and I'm good to go for another funtastic Friday.