Surprise in the Mail

     We're winding down on first quarter, and there have been many, many successes this far.  One of my favorite work-related tasks each week is reading student blogs.  I have to admit, the Tuesday ones are the most enjoyable for me because I love seeing how the quotations relate to students' lives and why they chose them.  I know this class can have many positive outcomes: that students read and write more, that they follow a passion, that they make connections with others about that passion.  Yesterday something really cool happened that supports that idea.  When I checked my school mailbox in the morning it contained a package.  I didn't recognize the name or address of the sender, but when I opened it, I found the following note:

It turns out this author (of the book Meeting Tom Brady) discovered my student Cam's blog, on which he was writing about what it takes to be a great quarterback.  Mr. King commented on Cam's post, which started an e-mail exchange between the two, and an autographed copy of this book, with the note above, ended up in my mailbox.  How cool!

      This was just the latest of tons of examples of why I am so happy to be teaching this class, and I hope I'll have more to report as the semester proceeds.

                                                                                                                    :)  CJF