In Memorium of Ronald Thorpe

Earlier this month Ronald Thorpe, the President of the National Board for Professional Teaching standards, died from lung cancer at the age of 63.  The congratulatory letter that I received stating that I had passed my Boards was from Dr. Thorpe.  More information on his passing can be found here.

Among multiple other achievements, Dr. Thorpe is credited with making the daunting process of becoming Board certified more accessible for teachers by decreasing the cost.  His vision was to have a Board certified teacher in every classroom across the nation and he advocated for the pathway to teaching certification to mimic the pathway for certification in medicine.

He will be missed by all of us who valued, admired, and respected his work towards elevating the teaching profession.

Dike Newell School Facelift

I have been happily anticipating new windows in my classroom's wing since we received an email stating they would be installed earlier this year.  Today I had a bunch of errands to run so I spun by my school, which is only a five minute drive from my house,  to see if the window project had started yet.  The construction people had been there for three weeks! Not only are we getting new windows, but all of the outside walls in my wing are being replaced.

I spoke for a few minutes with a couple of the crew members, who could not have been nicer, about what was going on.  I learned that this project will go down to the wire, meaning that they will be working right up until when school starts.   That was good to know so that I can better plan the rest of my summer vacation.  Here are some pictures.

This view is looking from the outside of a kindergarten classroom to the inside.

Here is a kindergarten classroom view from the inside to the outside. 

When I stopped by today, this is where they were working.

The outside of the back wing looks like it is finished. 

The cafeteria is the staging area. 

The entire wall is missing from this classroom.  They are working on it today. 

A Favorite Letter

Happy Fourth of July to one and all!

Albert Camus was less than a year old when his father was killed during WWII.  He and his older brother were raised by their illiterate mother and grandmother.  They were extremely poor. This letter serves as a testament as to the potential of education in delivering a way out of poverty.

Albert Camus's Letter of Gratitude to His Childhood Teacher After Winning the Nobel Prize.

9 November 1957

Dear Monsieur Germain,

I let the commotion around me these days subside a bit before speaking to you from the bottom of my heart. I have just been given far too great an honor, one I neither sought nor solicited. But when I heard the news, my first thought, after my mother, was of you. Without you, without the affectionate hand you extended to the small poor child that I was, without your teaching and example, none of all this would have happened. I don’t make too much of this sort of honor. But at least it gives me the opportunity to tell you what you have been and still are for me, and to assure you that your efforts, your work, and the generous heart you put into it still live in one of your little schoolboys who, despite the years, has never stopped being your grateful pupil. I embrace you with all my heart.

Albert Camus