or
There’s nothing like a spot of reflection with my Maryland Crab soup.
1. I am infinitely grateful to live in New England and work with the people with whom I work. New Hampshire and Vermont are miles ahead of so many other states in terms of policy and support for 21st Century Skills. (Which begs the question- why are neither P21 Partner States?) And Antioch? Seriously- the most 21C friendly place in the higher ed world.
2. The coolest technology out there may very well be heart-thumpingly cool, but it’s not worth a pile of 8- Track tapes if it isn’t accessible, affordable, useful, and teacher-friendly.
3. That being said, high-tech and high-touch don’t have to be mutually exclusive.
(That “not mutually exclusive” thing? It also holds true for the content vs. process debate that some folks seem so hot to have.)
4. Within a community, anything is possible. Without one, nearly nothing is.
5. That community? We have to tend it intentionally, fundamentally and continually.
6. Random acts of school improvement may be interesting and empowering, but I don’t think we’ll change the world of schools unless we get serious and systemic.
7. Jaws still drop when I explain the Critical Skill Classroom to educators and staff developers for the first time.
8. Not enough educators and staff developers are aware of the CSC model. I need- we need- to figure out how to make them aware.
9. My creeping suspicion that I process best by writing is absolutely true.
10. There is a positive correlation between the stylishness of a pair of shoes and the number of blisters they will give the wearer.
The Critical Skills Classroom 
We should be so lucky-as one who has seen the light and moved to the east to discover the true meaning of teaching, I am lucky. Thinking book, article, My Journey to Teaching. Reading one of Least Moon’s Books and thinking of the journeys we have taken. We should be so lucky.
Peace from the cool waters-keep a tight line.