No Logo?! ?

Does this look like enough red for a Cardinal Fan?

Now, It's hard to put a number or a scale on interest on a fan's enthusiasm.  But when a real baseball fan, player, coach and manager like @TonyLaRussa chooses to omit any single logo, we must all take note!  NO LOGO!?!

No Logo
By refusing any logo, he demonstrates his esteem for each organization and the contributions from those eras but endorses them all!  The White Sox and A's and even the Cardinals orginizations all fostered the environment necessary for the building of a true champion.  The question becomes, allegiance, picking favorites and ranking.  As the consummate coach, he always thinks of others.  Even listening to him talk reminds us to "tie for first." 

Brand Awareness
Conversely, organizations promote brand awareness, and loyalty fiercely and competitively as they struggle to get a piece of the pie.  Here we see the antithesis!

Assingment
Not to take anything, but it reminds me of a lesson I struggle with still.  In a training workshop we had a breakout session in our small group.  The challenge was to tell as story, but there was a twist!  It just wasn't any story but a personal story about what happened last night.  The task was to tell the story but leave out the personal pronoun "I." 

Me, Myself and I

We not allowed to say things such as:

I went out with friends.

After dinner, I watched the game.

or

I wanted to go skating.

 

We had to determine a "work around" like:

A bunch of us went out last night and...

Did you see the game last night?

or

Does anybody want to go do something?  We could go skating.

Try it and see what it feels like.  Personally, it is still a challenge! Is there a lesson in there?  What is important about Tony chosing No Logo?  Are we ready for that?

Good teaching fosters hope!

GOOD TEACHING FOSTERS HOPE

Sunrises (MLK Day 2014) offer hope for a new day, better day and a second chance.

 

Discipline, Management, Control, Influence and Engagement

Doug Lemov gathers these five terms together in Chapter Five of his book TEACH LIKE A CHAMPION and elaborates on a teacher's application in the classroom. The pages describing these terms succinctly and clearly.  An examination of these terms is substantially more thorough then the simple question or comment about good classroom management!  We often say about teachers things like, "she has great classroom management," or conversely, "he struggles with control."  However, these terms are not mutually exclusive but inter-reliant as well as dynamic.   Changing over the short term and developing in a teachers career, we see teachers developing a skill set necessary for the classroom. Many teachers began careers applying the phrase "don't smile to Christmas."  Does that still hold true, or have they adapted, developed and matured, maybe even improving along the way?

     This essay will attempt to start from the broad and narrow the focus to the more specific while articulating simple nuances of each. From specific to broad would yield similar thoughts but motivations might vary.  Issues  in the personal interpretation of each of these words and the overlap of applications making the lines between each vague yet still existent.  Regardless, their similarities and differences play an important role in the behavior of a teacher, if not the belief as well.

1.     CONTROL: AS IN "CONTROL THAT CLASS."

In a broad sense, teachers are paid to control the physical environment of their rooms.  If some thing happens, we always get a report about the incident of infraction.  Control is no longer present and something needs to happen to regain that status.

 2.   ENGAGEMENT: A BEHAVIOR USED TO TEACH.

The teacher might engage and attempt a re teaching activity or abort and remove the pupil from the situation.  However this reactionary posture is typically NOT the norm.  The expected norm is for the teacher to engage the students actively in lessons, conversations, instruction or many other modes, all designed to help teach or get a student to learn.  (Here is where a brief parenthetical note on extrinsic motivation shifting towards a more desire able intrinsic motivation is our highest outcome.  We expect our students to eventually develop and mature into fine contributing citizens in our society, and not a burden.) 3. MANAGEMENT:  PROCEDURES TO RUN A CLASSROOM Procedures, efficiency and norms fit here on thus continuum.  A popular quote claims "management is doing things right but leadership is doing the right thing!"  We get the idea of an optimal or effective or good way to run a classroom.  Respectful, considerate and responsible members of a classroom, akin to a mini population, produce more effectively, waste less time and learn more about the content as well as each other and ultimately uncover truths about themselves.  A secure environment is the best breeding ground for this growth.  Creating safety for students to take risks of all kinds builds them up and encourages their growth with minimal setback.  Students who feel safe take risks.  Social, physical and educational, including mental risks are all fluent in a truly learning environment.  Teachers play a vital role in modeling these behaviors till they become a belief on the student and the student owns their education! Students without this security fall victim to unhealthy discipline, for we know good discipline does NOT diminish hope.

4. DISCIPLINE: TEACHER GUIDING BEHAVIOR OF OTHERS

Good discipline encourages hope.  Discipline is what we use to aid students in their own overdo do control.  When the student can not control or manage, we MUST step alongside and guide and redirect (ZS) to help them.  If we opt out of this discipline and send the student away, the student gets what they were after, an escape from the pressure.  Good discipline seamlessly controls the class through engagement and managing behaviors in order to influence our students.

5.  INFLUENCE:  RESULTS OF PRIOR FOUR TRAITS ON THE LIVES OF OUR STUDENTS

The ultimate goal, purpose and intent of our society; an educated population.  Through the daily influence of teachers, parents and other substantial forces, students learn!  They learn what they live.  They learn what they see and they learn what they are taught!

Control is established, engagement initiated, management articulated, discipline pressure exerted and the results are our influence on others, maybe!

What are we teaching our wards?  What are they learning?  Are we good with that?

 

"Good discipline does NOT diminish hope."

@douglemov  Teach Like a Champion 2010 Jossey-Bass

Pineapples to State Cross Country Meets

From Pineapples at 14,000 Feet to 1st at State Cross Country, building champions is a process, not an event.

 

Back in 1979, a few Lindbergh Cross Country runners and their Coach were exploring colorful Colorado.  They had traveled by school bus there, 1000 miles from St. Louis and were to spend a ten days hiking, whitewater rafting and adventuring through the mountains.  Getting lost together, then persisting till things were familiar, bringing enough food to feed growing young men, including the special treat of dried pineapple, and not leaving anyone on the trails of adventure carved patterns and models foundational for later successes.  Sharing adventures like this was the scaffold for conversations.  Carrying a pack for days into the backcountry stripped any superficial bravado and formed bonds among the participants deeper than many others.  Battling together gave Coach the right to say things like, "We should do this, for a real adventure," or "Let's conquer this mountain," and a perennial favorite, "You might win state this year."

According to a Lindbergh High School web site, Missouri state Cross Country championships were won in 1972, 74, 75, 76, 77 and 78. This record leads us to ask a few questions; How did they do that? Was it a fluke, a good year, year after year?  Was is a great string of luck?  Did state caliber competitors join the cross country team every year?  Or were there conditions common to these years that we can duplicate today?  Was there something that contributed to this success that we might apply to our other situations?

Local newspapers called this era a dynasty, a tradition and mentioned the pack is back!  These teams of young men regularly and consistently found success on the course, but went on in life to persist, determined to accomplish their goals.  What ingredients were vital?

The summer before this picture was taken, this young man, Brian, was on one if those great adventures west.  During these trips, like every other, conversations evolved from the weather and the local sports team records to more serious matters, like ethics, drive, motivation, sacrifice, effort and pain.   After a day of hiking 10 miles with a full backpack, the conversations of struggle and conquest seemed more authentic.  There was nothing easy about carrying oneself and gear from 9,000 feet, over a mountain pass to 12,000+ feet above sea level, then back down to 11,000 for a camp by a lake!  The journey was a struggle, but the destination offset the pain.  The reward outweighed the self-inflicted stress and the memory became the prize.  The experience shared together became foundational for future contests as a team and later as individuals!  Adventures like these were personal, individual and unique among these teams, yet adventures were common ingredients for success.

Later, during the season, this same group of young men was assembled into formal teams of cross country runners, where seven competed together as a team and the sum of the place values of the first five runners to cross the finish line became the team's score.  These men ran miles as a group, competing against others, traveling like a pack and supporting each other along the way.  When the scores were tallied, Lindbergh Cross Country teams more often than not, had the lowest and winningest records.  This deep camaraderie cannot be bought or borrowed but can only be built through mutual experience.  Thus, as a team they ran, but as individuals each gave everything.

Typically, the state cross country meet is held in an early weekend of November.  As the season progressed the competition continued to increase as the Lindbergh met better opponents on their journey to State.  The Saturday before, Brian, the one pictured in green and gold, got beat badly.  On Monday, Coach sought him out at school and they had a visit.  Strategy was the theme of this talk and an entire week was needed to work through the details.  The recommendation was going to focus on pace, location in relation to team mates and the finish. The encouragement may have sounded like this: "Brian, these other runners are VERY talented.  They know what it takes to win a race. They have been winning races all season. But you too have been winning!  You have moxie, training and talent.  Now, we are going to talk about how to run this state race.  Brian, stay with the rest of your team for the first of the three miles. Be their beacon.  Set their pace and don't worry about any other runners but the ones on our team. On the second mile, make a move.  Increase your pace and get the front in focus! Don't expect to lead yet but increase your stride. The final mile is all yours.  Don't hold anything back but expect those other competitors to have drained each other on their quest to win too early.  They may compete against each other and exert too much energy too soon!"  This coaching, guidance or direction began to sink in!

During the race, this plan was followed.  He ran with the pack early, conserving precious energy. After the mile he increased his stride and passed many other runners.  As Brian neared the end, during the last mile, when he was instructed to give it all, he saw Coach on the sideline yelling words of encouragement.  This was nothing new.  Coach was always positive.  This time though, Coach caused a scene, jumping up and down as well.  That was enough for Brian.  He held nothing back and gave everything.  He finished that race before all the other runners that day and Brian won the state cross country meet.

Lessons from these events are individual and personal.  Everyone took away something different; persistence, training, listening to guidance, and strategy to name a few. Some, like Brian, took hardware but everyone learned something personal. The events of that day, including the work leading up to that competition became the building blocks or model for success.  The single-minded focus, drive and support are all components.  Yet these ingredients are common in nearly every other competitive setting. 

Does this rendition of those past events point to anything?

WHAT MADE THIS DIFFERENT? 

WHAT ARE THE ATTRIBUTES NECESSARY FOR SUCCESS?

FEEL FREE TO CONTRIBUTE THOUGHTS SURROUNDING THE DYNASTY.

External link.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindbergh_High_School_(Sappington,_Missouri). 

 

Happy New Year means we...

...examine components of our lives; mentally, personally, habitually, professionally, physically, socially and even spiritually.
As we count down till the ball dropping, what considerations might we ponder at this new beginning?  How do we self-assess? Or do we?  Do we make resolutions to change, or do we try and manage our vices?  Do we recommit to maintaining good habits? Do we promise to exercise and eat right, only to notice it seems like tourist season at the local gym?
These landmarks are best viewed when looked at from a distance.  Step back and examine three events of the prior year.  Try the Ben Franklin method and list the pros and cons in two separate columns on a sheet of paper.  Review any life changes and reflect on those implications.
But it may be best to look individually and not in relationship with other people.  Comparing our own talents, gift, abilities and experiences with anyone else either sets us up for failure or over-inflates our perspective.  Of we pick too high a bar, discouragement and paralysis from analysis stifles further goal setting.  On the other hand, viewing progress through outdated or under-articulated benchmarks inflates or exaggerates our true growth.
Finally, remember to write these things down.  Once written, the thought becomes a goal.  As a goal, attainment shifts from possible to probable!  Written goals are easier to monitor, report on and celebrate.
The answers to those earlier questions are indeed personal, yet the dilemmas are universal.  What will this year look like?  Will we wait for life too happen to us, or will we face obstacles head-on with confidence?
Regardless, remember to keep a big picture, individualize goals and write them down!

Where did you go to High School?

While reading Malcom Gladwells latest on underdogs and battling giants a few highlights jumped out implying Winfield Middle School was on the way to its rightful location #onthemap.

 

Big Fish in Small Pond or Small Fish in Big Pond

Not to steal any thunder from the book but the author poses the idea that a better bet may be a person familiar with success, regardless of the venue.  For instance, the scores at one school may all be better than all the scores of a different school, yet a top student at the mediocre school is often more effective and better suited for success.  To apply this to Winfield Middle School we know our district is not the biggest, yet that is exactly what makes it likely we might produce champions!  We study success, building champions and reaching goals.  Other schools may have more students try out for a sports team than we have in the entire class, yet was are competing on a level playing field?  Yes, the Big Fish from our small pond have likely success relative to the Small Fish in more successful pond.  Again, even though China has more honors students then we have students, where would we go to find ready and willing potential.

For example, the standard question floating many gatherings in St Louis starts with, “Where did you go to high school?” In St Louis, this question opens many introductions and social, professional and business meeting.  Of course, it supplies social clues leading to common connections, yet the hidden undertone often carries other connotations about the potential for success, growth or opportunity.  Almost like, “Are you from a Big Pond or Small Pond?”

What advantage is a disadvantage?

Gladwell continues his examination of underdogs considering the inordinate amount of CEOs and other business leaders with deficiencies like dyslexia.  His hypothesis addresses their overcoming the original obstacle by tuning other characteristics.  Similar to a blind person that tunes their hearing.  For instance, a successful trial lawyer overcame poor reading by hyper-sensitive hearing listening to the nuance with testimony supplied from the witness stand.  As underdogs, we often are overlooked following the formal and traditional channels.  It seemed the thing that these characters had to overcome, actually made them stronger and better suited to lead, connect with others and build from strength around a weakness.  Johnny Cash anecdotally described it in A Boy Named Sue.  Would you ever wish dyslexia on your children?

Don’t be afraid of being afraid.

Fight or Flight, Fear of Fear and the paralyzing results of some fears keep many of us back but build confidence in others.  The familiar quote:  What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger is actually articulated for better understanding and application.  Considering London during the bombing raids of Germany in WWII, we noticed three groups of people:  first, those that did not make it; second, those that suffered a near miss and finally those that made it through a remote miss!  Regretfully, the first group deserves complete respect. Then the near miss is just that, somebody fairly close to the impact.  This may be traumatic and even personally injurious but definitely different than a remote miss.  A victim of a near miss may so suffer a temporary negative setback.  Ironically the remote miss had the opposite effect on the citizens.  It brought them together.  Surviving a horrific bombing actually galvanized their unity.  The more bombings they survived, the more they believed they were invincible.  This made them stronger.  Anecdotally, some claimed they would rather stay in the city then flee to the countryside!

How does this apply to us? 

Are we a big pond struggling to succeed or small pond building fish ready for any pond? 

Do we let our perceived disadvantages give us a disadvantage, or do we just work around them?

Does our fear motivate us to fight, improve and get better or quit, submit and suffer setback?

http://gladwell.com/david-and-goliath/
@gladwell

Four terms for Thanksgiving 2013

A True Thanksgiving Feast?

What does thanksgiving look like at your house? 

Where do we actually begin?  Do we sit around the table and recite what we are thankful for?  Do we reminisce about our favorite thanksgiving?  Do we overdo it on tryptophan and trimmings?  Travel to visit family and friends, increase our stress and try to cope with all the distractions? Following our Presidential advice,  …  

... When 

we join with friends and neighbors to alleviate suffering and 

make our communities whole, we honor the spirit of President 

Abraham Lincoln, who called on his fellow citizens to "fervently 

implore the interposition of the Almighty hand to heal the 

wounds of the nation, and to restore it, as soon as may be 

consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of 

peace, harmony, tranquility, and union." 

 Or do we focus to find peace in our minds about our current state of affairs maybe considering this plight worse than any other?

  

Work - Optimism 

What description is suitable, acceptable, and sufficient actually addresses the true state of affairs?  Would terms like good, wonderful, excellent or work?  Would these accurately describe anything, or could they describe everything and nothing at the same time?  At any work place, there are always good and bad issues!  Trite phrases and shallow expletives fail to actually share how things truly remain.  Instead, numbers, data combined with anecdotal evidence often paint an accurate picture.  But like a picture that never fully does the truth justice, our descriptions can never fully capture the conditions!  Often how we perceive things, optimistically or pessimistically fosters growth or progress or slows down any advancements.  Hence, attitudes become personal barometers or indicators of success. 

Family or Friends - Forgiveness 

Much has been written describing the various commonalities and differences between family and friends.  Of course, we can’t pick our family but we can pick our friends. Together, these represent the people around us and in our paths that we either build up or tear down. Regardless of prior experiences, at this season, maybe the remembering and focusing on the positive becomes a priority.  Arguments are easy to begin but can acceptance and kindness overcome the past?  Maybe that is the place for true forgiveness?  Maybe that is what we should practice?  Like a doctors business being labeled a practice, forgiveness is also a practice.  It is not simple.  It is not easy and it is not a single event but a process.  We struggle, ponder and try self-righteous indignation, claiming pure innocence.  Yet as we forgive others, we also learn to forgive ourselves, heal and recover from past pains.  If we can’t forgive ourselves, we won’t be able to forgive others.

Life or Health - Service

Obviously, those spending time reading this are up and going but to piggyback from the last topic, maybe forgiveness is the best gift we can offer to those less fortunate and service is the action that stems from the attitude?  Only as a speculation but, are our efforts to remain healthy possibly physical as well as mental?  Maybe we should reconcile relationships with others as well as ourselves?  Maybe forgiveness becomes a component of mental health, leading to better physical health?  Reduced blood pressure may be an indicator, especially if resulting from natural adjustments, like attitude adjustments, forgiveness and serving others.  But physical health often aligns with psychological well-being.  Serving others may remind us of our own mortality, remind of our own blessings and connect us with them in synergistic and mutual beneficial ways.

More stuff than???  - Contentment

Finally, we look at our things.  We consider what we have.  Our list of wants and needs is often insatiable as we learn more about the offerings available.  A little story about motivating primitive workers by catalogs illustrates this.  A version went like this.  A factory opened up in an area where folks did not yet have a lot of other indicators of commercialism.  After the first week, when the locals received their check on Friday, they failed to come to work on Monday.  Allegedly, they had made so much during the prior week, they could sit idle and have their needs met for some time.  It wasn't till catalogs and commercialism taught them what was available did they return to work, with a renewed vigor.  This simple illustration is not meant to be a slam against capitalism, free market economies or big business but an indicator of human nature.  We won’t know we want something if we don’t know it exists!  Where does this stop?  Can we be happy or content with what we have?  Does our aspiration consume all our energy?  Do we own our stuff, or does our stuff own us?

Conclusion

This thanksgiving, maybe we could consider four things?  Optimism, forgiveness, service, and contentment.

Optimism that things the way things are is better than the way it could be!

Forgiveness for others, and ourselves as well!

Service to others and alongside others.

Contentment with all that we have here in these United States.

Authors Note:  This is actually my 100th post published.  Ironic it would be on such a special occasion.

From Leading leaders to Teaching Teachers!

From “Leaders Leading Leaders” to “Teachers Teaching Teachers:”

Monday, October 28, school officials from Lincoln County, Warren County and St Charles County assembled a team of presenters, facilitators and a keynote speaker for a day of educational professionalism!  We called it the Three County Professional Development Day (#3CoPD for twitter folks).    Three breakout sessions began the day, with presenters as teachers, administrators and professionals right from our own districts.  Lunch and a national speaker supplied entertainment as well as education during the mid-day transition.  After lunch, we organized into teams of common interest, such as math teachers, SPED professionals or counselors to collaborate to exchange positive and effective techniques from their individual areas of emphasis. Finally, an optional discussion ended the day when representatives from our independently funded and managed retirement organization spoke about the benefits, procedures and stability of our teacher retirement program.  PSRS



When nearly 700 local teachers attend, an event like this are they better equipped, motivated and ready to return to class afterwards?  When they hear from a peer, is there additional credibility?  When they hear form a peer, do they weight words differently?  What does it take to make a presenter an authority or credible?





What follows is a list of feedback from attending teachers.  When asked to list three “take-aways” or lessons from the day, here is how they responded!  These responses begin to demonstrate, however anecdotally, the benefit of collaboration.  They show that teachers can, will and do learn from each other.  It shows teachers are conscientious and do want the best for their students.  Can teachers teach teachers?  This implies we can!

The staff is responding to the following prompt:  Would you email me 3 take-aways from the day?  They could be from the morning break-out sessions, the keynote speaker and/or the round table discussions.  They might be personal for you or classroom ideas or building ideas.

 

1.)    Some useful activities to use in the classroom when I start teaching them how to write arguments
2.)    An interesting way to introduce a new concept. This was shown and demonstrated in my last session. Concept Attainment
3.)    I enjoyed the speaker during lunch. He had a lot of information that was new to me.    He pretty much kept my attention the entire time and I was anxious to hear what he had to say next.

A.       Reading the same article, but from various perspectives.   (this seems so simple, yet I have never tried this!)
B.      Layering Texts-   Reading a short story, a poem and watching a video clip about the same topic.    (I think I do this a little, but it would be or effective to do this more often)
C.      Keynote speaker-  I really liked the positive message he had for teachers.  Sometimes it is too easy to let the negative press take hold.  It was refreshing to hear that our profession is making a difference!

1. I got great emergency sub-plans for days when we are doing projects that cannot be done with a sub.
2. The keynote speaker was very positive.

3. I got more confidence that I am where I need to be in the art room.

1. I found some cool new apps that can be used in the classroom
2. I learned a new way to track physical fitness test.

3. From the round table I learned that our physical education program here at the middle school goes above and beyond what other  middle schools and some high schools in the area do.  Wright City was amazed about the fact we get every kid to "move" with such large class sizes.

I liked the format and information from the Tri County PD Summit.  For me maybe the most useful professional development I've been to.

1.        In the model drawing for algebra, he used it to solve percent problems.  The book used it as a reference, but I understand the connection more, so I will stress that more for the students to understand it.

2.       Quizlet seemed like a good resource to study, and I will work on setting it up for my students.
3.       I am much more confident about the model drawing after yesterday, so I will incorporate it for word problems.  One the students understand it, I think they will be able to solve word problems much better.

A.  I learned about some great apps/website that I can try using in my class...socrative and polleverywhere are just a couple examples.
B.  I was given a great rubric for paragraphs that I can use when I have short answer questions.  It is a quick way to grade them and make sure that all the key components are in the paragraph.
C.  One of the big things I took away from the keynote speaker was that it is the small things that we do for students that can really make a difference.  We never know when there might be something we say or do that might change the life of a student forever.
1. Keynote speaker was really uplifting and informative

2. I was given some good reading strategies for Science.
3. There are many practical apps our students can use in class for free.

A change that I will use in the next 10 days in my classroom is to implement more of the Kagan strategies into my daily classroom.  Having the students work together to come up with answers and sharing with the classroom or with a partner will help those who are struggling and well as those who are not.  It will also make those students who normally are not focused to be held accountable while reading or discussing what we read.  I would also like to bring more technology into the classroom through the use of apps which the students can use from their smartphone or other devices. 

In the future I loved the idea of a 5 subject notebook for the science classroom. Each subject would be set aside for certain things such as notes, vocabulary, bell ringers, labs etc.  I feel that this will hopefully keep the students more organized in my classroom. 

Three take-aways…

a.       Little things can make a huge impact on students.
b.      Don’t believe everything you read.
c.       Radiate the positive and NEVER trash talk in public!!!!

To make our place a better place to work:
http://johndraper.org/uploads/Successory_Nomination_1_.pdf

1)      Everything I say and do has the potential to have an impact on someone.  The stories from the keynote speaker were a good reminder of the importance of our jobs day to day, hour to hour and all of the interactions we have with students.

2)      There were several useful APPS that I will refer back to whenever needed from the APP ATTACK session.  I believe embracing technology is important to keep up with a changing world and help give the best to our students.
3)      At the roundtable with other MS PE teachers there were some helpful ideas shared on how other schools do the MS PE/Health combination

a. need differentiation up in reading

b. understand icloud
c. we have it together more than we think in the area of spec ed

My favorite breakout session was the third one I attended about using the Concept Attainment method in lessons.  I remember learning about it in college, but it was a nice refresher.  The presenter had numerous entertaining examples and non-examples for us.

I also thought the speaker was both entertaining and uplifting.  Sometimes all we hear from society around us, is how terrible we are as teachers, and it was nice to see someone recognize reality.  Studies are easily skewed. 

I also really enjoyed meeting and talking with other foreign language teachers from other districts.  I got some really great ideas from them!
 

1. argumentative - pre essay writing, audience exercise
2. vocabulary work - connecting
3. kids need to read more complex text

Some staff even presented about various topics surrounding school issues.

Standards Based Grading (SBG) addresses the understanding a student has over a various topic.  Here is the Power-point link used by our team of presenters:  SBG in the Middle School  & Artifacts to document

Summer Academy -A High School Transition Tool:  Summer Academy Presentation

Details and schools planning the event:

Warrenton R3 School District - http://www.warrencor3.org/

Winfield School District - www.winfield.k12.mo.us

Wright City School District www.wrightcity.k12.mo.us

Orchard Farm School District www.ofsd.k12.mo.us

Guest Speaker www.johndraper.org

Venue http://stcharlesconventioncenter.com/

 

Assemblers comment: Identifying authors of the above responses was considered.  Two perspectives were debated.  On one hand, the authors should be proud of their thoughts but, just because they responded, that does not imply they will incorporate every feature into their classes.

On the other hand, the staff are trusted professionals.  The intent is not to force people but work with people to grow from within.  Therefore, names were removed but clues were left.