What I'm Thankful For

The world seems lit in a different kind of light this time of the year. The sun travels lower in the sky, the moon brighter in the cold dark night, but what is different is the star-stuff that glows about us. There are still moments, like now, in which I have the time to pause and consider everything I am thankful for.

As the end of the series approaches, I am thankful for GED 2002. The fabled, tested credential opened career and academic doors for hundreds of thousands of students. GED 2002 will be a hard act to follow.

I am thankful for the staff of our Assessment Center. They work behind the scenes with little acclaim but lead the state in preparing our school and students for the new GED 2014 credential. We are in very good shape because of their work.

I am thankful for clever quotations that inspire me each day from Facebook friends, Sunrise Inspirations, and Runner's World -- running, I have found, is a lot like working in a classroom. And, I am thankful for the supply of inspirational cards from The Attic Coffee and Books on Bodart Street in downtown Green Bay: next year, I promise to buy envelopes to go with them so I don't unbalance the stock.

I am thankful for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and, my newfound article-source favorite, Zite: it's much easier keeping up with news, trends and ideas than it was in the past. In a busy world, one hundred forty-words updates are not a bad thing.

I am thankful for technology and for succinct, informative emails which allow me to stay in touch everyone all the time. For those emails that are not succinct and informative, I am thankful for the delete key.

I am thankful for whiteboards.

I am thankful for the STAR Reading Program and ANI (Adult Numeracy Instruction), both promulgated and promoted by the Wisconsin Technical College System. This instruction has changed the way I think about teaching adults.

And, while I am thanking those who have formed my teaching, I am thankful for the IPA (Instructor Preparation Academy); my mentor, Tom Bice-Allen; and the Talent Development folks of NWTC. I hope they like their new offices.

I am thankful for this blog. It helps me compare my craft against the lessons of others. I am thankful for the readers who point out my typos.

I am thankful for bosses who are patient with my impatience and for my PASS team members. We share the same passion for the success of our students, which is more important than sharing similar political views. And, some day, I will share a ride with the group.

I am thankful for my students. They may think that I am the instructor, but often our roles are reversed. I think I learn much deeper life lessons from them than the lessons in subject-verb agreement they get from me. Persistent gradual steps can change a life and can overcome any obstacle. 

And, I am humbly thankful for the teaching opportunity I have been given by the school. I am thankful for the dual assignments at Shawano and Oconto Falls. Two plus years in and I am still wowed by the talent, dedication and student service of both of those staffs. They don't realize how good they are.

A recent Prudential television commercial asks viewers what would you do with your life if money was not an object? What would I do? Exactly what I am doing right now and exactly where I am doing it. For that, I am truly thankful. Have a good holiday.