Leveraging Learning

 This year, kids and teachers across the country have gone back to school in extreme heat. Some schools have fared better than others due to air conditioning, but many have suffered discomfort, malaise, irritability, unsafe temperatures and disruptions to learning. I spent the summer feeling crummy as a result of most of the things on the list above. Crummy is actually putting it mildly, but that is beside the point. I saw some medical professionals, spoke with some experts, complained to my family and yet, I wasn't really able to get a handle on what was wrong or what to do about it. If you want to feel like a hardcore loser, have vague medical symptoms. Anyway, the place that I landed was to reduce my discomfort by being more anti-inflammatory. More fatty fish, more berries, more sleep, more fitness, more seeds and nuts, but fewer processed foods, less sugar and (sadly) less beer. It is a process, but I am feeling better.  My efforts to reduce inflammation were thwarted some...

 I have an unhealthy relationship with attendance. I come to school almost every day because I love school and I hate being absent. It took me a long time to understand that people cannot be preset every day. Some of this understanding came from personal experiences. You can't be present when your offspring are home sick, when you have COVID, when your 18 year old kitty has a stroke, when your partner is having surgery, or when you're at your brother's funeral. Life does get in the way of school and maybe that's a good thing. I have a mindfulness app that encourages me to "be present." The app seems to imply that if I breathe and notice, I am "present." While this may or may or be true, I interpret "present" as an active thing. Yes, I need to breathe and notice, but I also need to do stuff. Being present is more than just being in the moment. It's knowing the plan for the day and the people who are needed to make the plan work. It's...