Snow Day

So I am off today because of the weather. It is normal to have bad winter weather during this time of year in the Midwest, but here in the KC/NE Kansas area, we have had one of the worst winters in several years, and it is only getting worse. My school, as well as pretty much every other district in the area, if off today. Not because bad weather is already here, but it is on its way. We will probably be off tomorrow, and maybe even Friday because it is supposed to get below zero (which means no snow will be melting).

Welcome!

Here is my first post on this new blog. This is not the first time I have tried out a new blog, and I don't want to spend too much time explaining who I am and what this blog is. But I feel I should do some explaining here in my first post.

First, let me give some background information about myself:

• I teach special education at a high school in Northeast Kansas. I work with students at both an adaptive level (Learning Disabilities, Attention Deficit Disorder, etc.) and a functional level (Intellectual Disabilities, Mentally Challenged, Autism). This is my first year of teaching.
• I live in Johnson County, KS with my lovely wife and our dog.
• Although I live in Jayhawk/KC Royals territory, I am originally from Central Missouri. Thus, I am fans of both the Missouri Tigers, and the St. Louis Cardinals.
• I am very liberal, some might say almost socialist, in my political views. I would prefer to think of myself as a "democratic socialist" if the "s" word has to be applied to me at all. I currently do not belong to any political party.
• Although I am a Christian, I would describe myself as a Unitarian Christian (although I don't currently have a regular church I attend).

I would like this to primarily be a blog about education and policy matters. Sometimes, posts will be about interesting articles I have found surfing the internet or doing research. Sometimes, they will reflect what is going on in my own professional career. And although this blog is primarily about education and policy, I will not rule out posting non-education items that reflect my interests. Above all, I want this blog to create a dialogue with web-surfers about topics and ideas pertaining to both education and non-education related issues. This requires not only me expressing my own views, but hearing the views of others in both comments on my posts and e-mail feedback. As I tell all of my students, teachers aides and co-workers, if you have any suggestions to help make this a better place to learn, please let me know. I crave feedback!