First… congratulations to the hipteacher as she finishes her first year of teaching. Your first year as a teacher is something you never forget. I remember Beacon’s first graduation… I leaned over to Mr. Stoll and said, "I can’t imagine caring about a group of kids more than this."

And he said, "Just wait until you have a group for four years."

Good luck, hipteacher. You do learn how to manage the emotions of the job better as time goes on, but you also have to make sure that you always keep yourself open to their experiences.

The second shout-out goes to Joe Luft and Flushing International High School who had this wonderful piece on WNYC this week.

Joe is an old friend from back when he took the NASTT workshop at Beacon a few summers ago. He’s been a teacher, a techie, a blogger and now the principal and founder of a new school. And he’s a great guy. Congrats, Joe!

Thanks to Tim for the heads-up!