Had dinner with a lovely lady last night, a lady who’s been my witness and support for twenty-three years now, a lady without whom my personal and my professional life would crumble irrevocably, a lady I am lucky enough to call my wife. Not only does she help me stay centered  in my outside-of-school life, but she also helps me find a center in my school life, especially in my crazier times, and no other time has been crazier than now with Project 180. A teacher herself–the best I know, she lends both ear and advice to my schemes and dreams. And so, as one might imagine, our date-night conversations inevitably end up at teaching and learning as we cannot avoid this shared passion, a passion to which we often give too much, even in our “us” moments. So, of course,  last night’s engagement was no different. We stared deeply into each other’s eyes and talked…about school. Yes, hopeless romantics.

It all began innocently enough. I just uttered something about wanting to find a way to solicit more feedback from my kids with 180, and so, what began as a mild flirtation with an idea turned into 20 minutes of smoldering passion, an embrace without pause, an end with supreme satisfaction, a climax of clarity…

Okay. Just to be sure, I am still talking about school. Anyway, we bounced ideas back and forth, ultimately arriving at a simple plan. A feedback box. Simple. Nothing original. Nothing fancy. Starting next week, I will make available a box for kids to anonymously share their thoughts about their experiences with Project 180 with a promise to publish whatever they share: good, bad, or ugly. I have no desire to be anything other than transparent with 180. So each week I will share what the kids really think with the rest of the world. I am excited by this opportunity to even more intentionally listen to and learn from they who matter most, my kids.

Thank you for humoring me and allowing me to share the more intimate moments of my journey. I tried to keep it PG, but one can only edit out so much, else the sizzle fizzles. Thanks for keeping the sizzle alive, Sher. Love you.

Again, thanks for humoring me in this lighter look at the project. Sorry for the tech snafu earlier this morning. Happy Friday, all.