After nearly a quarter century as an educator in a large, public high school, I suspected, but was unprepared, for the coming of this day. By complete happenstance, I became re-connected with several of my former students during a Twitter chat. It was a proud moment to know some of my favorite students remained engaged in educational pursuits. While the exchanges were pleasant and interesting, the communication caused me to think back to my early years of teaching and coaching. Knowing what I know now, I owe a sincere apology to the students and athletes of my first decade of teaching and coaching. I wasn't excellent, not even close. I wasn't very good at all. I'm sorry. Way back in 1990, Mr. Freeman hired me to teach social studies at Palatine High School . He was the social studies department chair, a master historian, and the epitome of the " sage on the stage " teacher. Dave, a large man, filled the boards with " burnin' chalk " (history ...
Ruminations about lifelong learning.