Life on the Runn...

Early this school year, one of my amazing co-workers, Paul, said something so striking as we delved into a discussion about writing.  He said he tells students to think of writing "as a verb rather than a noun."  It's English-teacher-obvious that writing can technically be both a noun and a verb, but Paul, an art teacher, was onto something so much deeper.  He inspired me; he shifted my thinking!  It is now that  time of year in teacher-land (No, not the time where we're counting down the days until summer, a time to catch our breaths and plan for the next sprint around the track...well, at least not entirely that): it's End-of-Year Evaluation Time.  I spent some time early this week completing the required documents, ensuring I wouldn't miss the submission deadline (and would have plenty of time to review, revise, doubt myself, review again, revise some more..it's not a healthy habit, I know).  As I worked through the various documents, I kept coming ba

When I was growing up, my mom and I used to watch this movie,  Hope Floats.   From time to time, we still use a few of its greatest lines, and as I reflected on this new form of teaching and learning I find myself a part of, one line came to mind: "My cup runneth over!" This is typically my favorite time of the school year.  We're all in our groove.  The kids appreciate (or accept) my incessant hand-talking, book chatting, and super hilarious jokes. We share what we've learned; we take risks; we open up (I really am going to miss our "This I Believe" unit...it makes me cry and laugh and love my kiddos that much more).  We accept that our time is coming to a close, and so we hang onto each moment; we're a family by this time of the year.  When the "safer at home" order was first given, I thought I'd be missing a few weeks of the glory days of the school year.  And then face-to-face learning was cancelled for the duration of the school

... is my dad, Deputy Chief David B. Unti!  When my brother and I were very young, when we had settled into what would become our childhood home, my dad made a decision.  No, he made a sacrifice, the most selfless one a person can make.  He chose to become both a firefighter and an EMT.   He spent countless hours - after his full time job was complete and he had made time for his family - studying to be the very best at the very bravest of undertakings.  And for more than 25 years, he has given his time, his energy, his heart to the Mukwonago Fire Department.  I watched him function on barely two hours of sleep; I watched him carry on after devastating calls; I've watched him advance his skills and his rank; I've watched him model selflessness and courage each and every day.  So when people jokingly say, May the Fourth [Force] be with you, I call on you to think about International Firefighters' Day -- those fine people, my dad included, are truly a FOR