Breakthrough

I now hold my first novel in my hot little hands. It's hard to believe--ten years of work actually paid off in something. Of course, it would be good if someone reads it, but at least a very skillful and credible editor liked it a great deal and felt it was worth publishing.

I also live outside Chattanooga, Tennessee, and we learned yesterday that Volkswagen is going to build a plant here. That is extremely good news for the economy here.

I have also made a mental breakthrough this summer about teaching, perhaps from reading the book Boundaries and perhaps from all the constructivist theory I've been trying to digest. The students must take responsibility for their own learning, which includes reading the materials outside of class. My job is accountability. I really do think that could be my new mantra. I plan on lecturing a lot less but scaffolding a lot more. I plan on holding them to the "two hours of studying for ever hour in class" and give them time to implement that. I plan to give my juniors more say over what and how they want to learn, as long as certain goals for which I am responsible are met.