MENTORS MATTER

To some degree every person I've met, every author I've read, and every musician I've heard has been a mentor. The following people, however, are the ones I want to mention in my first ever blog entry.

William McCarthy--my grandfather, who taught me the value of family and the value of honesty. He never shied away from "telling it like it is," especially the last 20 years of his life in which he got honest with himself, sobered up, and lived gratefully one day at a time.

Michael Gelven--a college professor and friend, who illuminated the world of philosophy and the world of Shakespeare and proceeded to show me how these two worlds are siblings.

Barbara Taylor--a former boss and leader of the the English department at Glenbrook North High School. She helped transform my teaching from "what" to "how." She guided me in scaffolding lessons that teach students how to learn, not merely what to learn. In addition, she never let me forget that I am a kid teacher first and an English teacher second.

Ryan Bretag--an Instructional Technologist at GBN. Although he's much younger than the other three (in fact, he's younger than me), Ryan gets the credit for showing me the true value of technology (i.e., a tool that makes my professional and my personal life better). Ryan helped me see the meaning-making potential in wired discussions, wikis, blogs, etc.

So, what mentor of yours deserves mentioning?