A View from the Now-Retired Principal's Seat

Christmas came early to me this year. A kindergarten student, whom I will call Billy (not his real name), came with his special education teacher to read a book to me.  This, in fact, was the first book Billy had ever read by himself.  It was a beginner book, but to be 100% clear..it was a book...a real book.  As you can imagine, the look of joy and sense of accomplishment Billy shared on his face just lit-up my office like...a Christmas tree.  Even more, I could tell his joy and excitment at being able to genuinely share with me was instriniscally motivating him to want to read more.  That moment was the best gift ever...for both of us! I'm fortunate.  As a school principal I get to experience these "aha" moments all of the time.  And trust me...they never get old. Kids come to me to share their reading, writing or examples of outstanding work on a test.  Our Specials teachers will highlight great musical performances or artwork.  Our PE teacher and Media Specia

"When you heat your house with wood, you get twice the heat!  First, you heat yourself when you work to cut and split the wood.  Then you get the heat in your house when you burn it." My dad would proclaim this statement each time we headed to the woods to cut down a tree. Growing up in rural Wisconsin and in the shadow of the oil crises of the 1970s, my parents took every opportunity possible to save money.  We heated our house primarily with a wood stove.  I'm not talking about a cute, decorative fireplace or ornamental stove.  No, we had a full-fledged wood furnace in our basement.  We used very little fuel for our oil-burning furnace, but I never remember us being cold. Heating your house with wood, however, is a year-long, multi-stepped endeavor.  First, you need to have access to wood.  We cut wood on shares with our neighbor who had many acres of hardwood.  We also collected and cut pallets and pretty much anything else that would burn. Next, you need to