Year 2, Week 5 (Days 395-401)

Bow Tie Spotlight: I've worn it twice this week - that's how much I think of Carlos' work. The man behind Knot Now and Necks Tuesday bow ties is not only generous with his ties but he was kind enough to take about four hours of his personal time to teach a total stranger how to work a sewing machine enough to start crafting his own bow ties. Carlos - I'm forever grateful and hope all is well!

This week's featured sponsors:

Not Know

Necks Tuesday

Xoelle

Aaron Michael

Day 315

Today marked the second week in a row the family and I are taking the bus to church. It's a nice walk/bus ride and helps us save the gas in our minivan. Before Sandy we never expected we'd be taking the bus as a family, but it's really worked out rather nicely. Now we're wondering why we didn't think of this sooner. 

The bow you see pictured as the boys and I take a local bus was gifted by Carlos from Knot Now and Necks Tuesday bow ties.

Day 296

Back to work and back to a new algebra unit. Have you heard of the new Common Core standards? The level of rigor is comparable to this obstacle training I've been adapting to - and I have the great task of being somewhat of a craniumfit (think crossfit, only geekier) math coach for my 6th graders. It's a tough transition, but well worth it to see my students evolving before my eyes. 

Today's bow was a gift from Necks Tuesday. Like it? Find it here.

Day 275

I decided to go with a fall look today as the weather has been a bit colder, and gloomier. Today's bow was gifted by Carlos over at Necks Tuesday bow ties located here in Brooklyn, NY. I'm a huge fan of his work. Check out his shop here.

Day 253

Uh oh. I'm feeling a head cold coming on. This means my training will have to be modified - or just put on hold for this week while I rest up, shore up my energy and make sure I'm ready for the kiddos today. I can't believe we're already into the 18th day of school. Crazy!

I hope you don't think today's combo is cray cray. I love pairing plaids and paisleys and today's bow is brought to you by Necks Tuesday bow ties. Check out Carlos' collection and let him know I said hey. He's such a cool dude that I'd totally be buying all his gear if I had more moolah to spend on bows. 

Day 242

It's my 13th year of teaching and the first few weeks of school are always pretty overwhelming. No worries, however. All we need is ganas.

I've got another race in a couple of days!

Today's bow was gifted by Carlos over at Knot Now and Necks Tuesday. 

Day 234

As the days continue to linger into nights I am anticipating another amazing year. Regardless of how tiring this craft may be, the early months of the school year are always incredibly telling. They always manage to break or bind. I refuse to buckle under. Instead I will allow the pressure to mold me into a stronger fighter. I realize this all may be somewhat vague to you if you just clicked on a link and found my blog. That's cool. I hope it makes you curious for my craft. I get to teach for a living. And, coincidentally, today was just another day I also got to wear a bow tie. 

Today's bow was acquired as a gift from the man behind Knot Now and Necks Tuesday. I haven't heard from you in a while, Carlos! I hope all is swell.

Day 210

Today was the first official day back on the job. Well, not really. The staff went on an offsite retreat to Norwalk, CT and we spent the day engaged in team-building activities. As excited as I am about starting my 6th year (and 13th overall) I really can't believe my vacation is over!

Today's bow is brought to you by Carlos from Necks Tuesday bow ties. Check out his selection of cool bow ties here.

Day 204

Sometimes less really is more. I decided to pair this simple, clean bow tie with a very fun shirt I found this weekend. There you have it.

Today's bow tie came via Carlos from KnotNow and NecksTuesday bow ties. Do check out his collection of amazing bows.

Dat 192

Some surprises today ... I've been invited to write for two unrelated blogs - one on fashion and one on education and I'm humbled to get to employ some of my passion for writing! I also received a couple of new bow ties in the mail - including one from Dapper+Dash that came in this cool package. Stay tuned for what's inside! My final unexpected gift came in the form of the professional athletes who turned up at the Espys wearing a bow tie - including Jeremy Lin of the New York Knicks, who was apparently wearing one for the first time ever. Oh, you know I'll be reaching out to J.Lin to see if he wants to borrow some of my bows.

Today's bow came by way of Carlos over at NecksTuesday. He's got a totally sweet collection of bows. Check them out, here.  

Day 175

Seersucker Sunday. Today's bow was gifted by Carlos from Knot Now & Necks Tuesday. His bows are always slammin. BTW, if you remember he's also the cool cat who taught me how to make my own bow ties. I'm still in your debt, Carlos!

Day 156

What a lovely day to embrace the suck. Huh? Yup embrace it. Sometimes we skirt around the truth or try to sweeten it with soft memories of easier times. The hard truth is that sometimes the challenges we face, the obstacles we must endure to strengthen our resolve to do better than the low expectations society places on us purely and simply suck. It isn't pleasant to force yourself out of bed at 4:30, complete a rigorous workout on little rest, run when it's colder than you'd like it to be and encounter excuse after excuse why to you could do other things with your time than evolve. It's far more pleasant to be at peace with my best effort, knowing I am truly living life to the fullest capacity that God has granted me with. I choose to embrace the suck today and not take any more moments for granted.

Today's bow was a gift from Carlos over at KnotNow and NecksTuesday bow ties located here in Brooklny, NY.  

Day 130

Ok, so I'm not looking forward to scoring the state exam tomorrow. I've been sent to score 3 out of the 5 years I've been here. Last year wasn't so bad. From what I from my charter and traditional public school teachers doesn't sound encouraging. Yikes.

In stark contrast to the apprehension I feel about spending a day with complete strangers (despite the appearance of this blog I consider myself quite the introvert), lies my enthusiasm over this beautifully crafted bow tie. Thanks to my man, Carlos, from NecksTuesday for the lovely work of art.

Day 72

I'm finished grading those interim assessments I may have mentioned last week. So far I can tell my students don't have many gaps in their conceptual understandings, but it's now a matter of mechanics in their processing of the work that's really hindering them to show off their potential. It's a matter of really being consistent about the way we show our work - always a theme for improvement. Sometimes it's a matter of taking time to really diving into the details of the work and being completely devoted to putting forth your best effort. Sometimes I think of particular test data to be more of a reflection of a student's character than content knowledge. I'm looking forward to analyzing this a bit further. Until then, let's talk about today's bow.

Today's bow was another gift from Carlos Aguilera over at Necks Tuesday. This might be the last one of its kind and boy is it a dandy. It's a soft polyester blend featuring super slim stripes and the usualy three-piece closure system that allows you to tie your bow in freestyle fashion and then take it off from the back, keeping the tied bow intact. How cool is that? Very cool.

Day 69

A couple of weeks back a designer I met on etsy passed along an article she had read about a 10-year-old boy from Memphis who was designing his own bow ties. I was so inspired by this boy's gumption I decided to reach out to another designer I met who then graciously volunteered his time to teach me how to craft my own bow tie.

Words can't begin to express how grateful I am for Carlos Aguilera, founder of Knot Now and Necks Tuesday who patiently guided me through his process of creating ties from his studio in Brooklyn. Thank you, Carlos! It took me a little over three hours to create the bow you see today. I used some fabric that my wife had lying around and our fairly neglected sewing machine. I had never approached the thing before yesterday. I learned so many things about the process that I seriously can not wait to pass on to my kids on Saturday afternoons as I attempt to make this a new hobby of mine. Perhaps one day I'll open up a bowtique of my own, but for now I'm just happy to find a new level of appreciation for all my sponsors and I'm excited to have learned a new skill. Yes, kids, this teacher is still a learner.

Day 58

Who else is ready for Spring Break? J/K my friends. J to the K.

Here's another fabulous bow from Necks Tuesday. It features a Liberty of London white lawn cotton with a red and blue floral design.

Day 57

Anyone else excited to get back to the classroom? It feels like I never left! Oh wait - I didn't! <chuckle chuckle> All jokes aside, I did enjoy an adjusted schedule while I tutored some 5th and 6th graders. It was great to develop relationships with future students and continue to work with some of my current 6th graders. 

Today's wonderfully green bow comes via Necks Tuesday. It's a drab tweed featuring some light speckles.  It works perfectly with a green Borsalino fedora and my teacher tweed jacket. Thanks, Carlos!

Day 16

Today is not just another day off, my fellow comrades in education. Today we get to reflect on Martin Luther King, Jr. and the result of one man driven by a resolve to make the world a better place to inhabit.

He once said "Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."

This blog has been somewhat of a step of faith for me. I started this challenge to wear a bow tie for 1,000 days straight with a personal collection of maybe a few dozen bow ties with the idea that if anyone wanted to join me or support me they could do so by either donating a tie for me to wear (so that perhaps I might eventually wear 1,000 different ties) or donate to one of the Achievement First schools I represent. In the last 16 days I've field dozens of e-mails noticed my page views continue to grow into the thousands and I'm more inspired than ever to continue the same dialogue that Dr. King so passionately delivered with more consistency than my wardrobe.

The bow ties are awesome - please don't get me wrong. But today, of all days, let's not forget that this mission has a greater purpose than to keep me looking dapper. Let's continue to raise awareness that Dr. King's dream has not yet been fully realized. I too have a dream that one day our three sons will not be judged by the color of their skin, but for the content of their character.

Today's bow tie was generously donated by my new friend Carlos Aguilera. He's got a couple of collections - this one is from Knot Now. I suggest you also check out his Necks Tuesday line. Great stuff!  Did I mention he skateboarded to our apartment to hand deliver this gem? I love the fact that though it's a freestyle handcrafted lightly textured wool tie it's also joined together by a small clasp so if you just want to tie it once and then take it off without undoing your bow you most certainly can. 

Day 8

One of the reasons I love Sundays is that it gives our sons the opportunity to wear bow ties with their Papi as we attend church together as a family. The other, awfully more important, reason I love Sundays is being able to go to church with my family and spend oodles of time with other Christians learning from the Bible, playing guitar with our Rondalla and enjoying the company of my family. 


The bow tie I'm wearing was donated by Carlos over at KnotNow. There are many reasons why Carlos is just such a cool cat. He handcrafted this beauty in a studio less than a mile away from our apartment and skateboarded over to hand deliver both of these gems. Thank you, Carlos!


Luis is wearing a nifty tie from Beautiesltd.com that I purchased from their site for the four of us to wear on Father's Day 2011. Lucas and Javi are wearing ties crafted out of old pants that I decided to turn into shorts. The extra fabric went straight to Elle over at xoelle.com and she made these clip-ons for the boys (with a matching set for me, of course!).