A Monumental Day

Lee Greenwood famously sang, "I'm proud to be an American" in his song "God Bless the U.S.A."  I have always known what he meant, but I was reminded on Sunday, April 27, when the State Teachers of the Year gathered in Washington, D.C. for a week of activities and celebration.  Our opening event was a reception hosted by EducationCounsel.  With a stunning view of the Capitol, the patriotic feelings began to flow.

From there it was a bus tour of some of the monuments.  There was the Washington Monument, now free from scaffolding.

There was the World War II Memorial.  I had a great uncle who fought in Germany and many other relatives who have served in the military, including my dad, who was in Korea.  No one can visit this memorial and not feel pride and gratitude.

We saw the Lincoln Memorial, a tribute to one of our greatest Presidents who had strong connections to Indiana.  The picture from the side shows Indiana carved into the top in the listing of states.

Our last stop was to see the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, which looks across the waters at the Jefferson Memorial.

Today will feature experiences at the Smithsonian Museums and a reception hosted by Dr. Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden at the home of the Vice President.

I have often told my Latin students that if they wanted to see Rome in its heyday, they should visit Washington, D.C., for there they will see Classical architecture, Latin inscriptions, and people from all nations going about business in the capital of a world-leading nation.  Indiana plays a proud role in the country whose government rests in this city, and I hope all Hoosiers will enjoy these few pictures of our shared legacy.

Homecoming

How is it possible to feel as if it is homecoming week when you see people you just met three months ago?  When I saw Monica Washington (TXTOY) at The Fairfax on Embassy Row upon arriving in Washington, D.C., we hugged and immediately introduced each other to our families.  Pam Reilly (ILTOY) was next for a hug and introduction to her husband.  Then it was Darleen Sutton (SCTOY), Gary Abud (MITOY), Jane McMahon (WITOY), and Ryan Devlin (PATOY).  Hugs, smiles, and welcomes abounded as if we had grown up together.  How is that possible?

This is the kind of thing that happens whenever teachers get together.  The shared passion for that most human and humane of enterprises we call education unites people and stokes fires of creativity, leadership, and energy to white-hot intensity.  We may only have met in January, but we are kindred spirits, and that makes us family.

More posts will follow when as events really get underway, but for now, it is back to homecoming!

(Our son, Austin; our daughter, Olivia; and the true Indiana Teacher of the Year, my wife, Melissa.  As I said in my remarks at the INTOY award dinner, "she's so conjunctive to my life and soul that as the star moves not but in his sphere, I could not but by her."  Hamlet, Act 4, Scene 7)

Not Big Enough

I did not get a big enough van for the trip to join the 2014 State Teachers of the Year in Washington, D.C. It can hold all the luggage and my family just fine, but there are others going on this trip, and I don't think they will all fit.

There are Ann Roberson, Zelda Everbach, Maxine Dersch, Debbie Kimeck, Marcia Austin, Don Dewey, Neal Lang, and Irv Goldstein along with Art Von Worder, Bill Chilton, and Gene Miller.  Those are Kindergarten through 6th grade teachers and principals.

Somehow I am going to have to find room for Lois Jones, Carl Miles, Dale Richmer, Lester Blank, Chaz Wolf, Sonny Wright, Bob Holman, Bob Jones, Barbara Cannon, Fred Barnes, Kathy Smith, Steve McKinley, Vern Ratliff, Connie Fleshman, Ron Silver, Doug Bierman, Keith Hofmeister, Harry Shields, and Skip Ellmers from Hazelwood Junior High.

It is probably going to get a bit cramped when Sam Christie, Jack Smith, Jack Ford, Jim Dickman, Craig Flora, John Richardson, David Runge, Linda DeRungs, Gary Austin, Evelyn Cooper, Dick Wardell, Alice Ranck, Marcene Holverson, Dave Grosheider, Bob Duesch, Dennis Renshaw, and Dick Flatt try to squeeze in from New Albany High School.

I may may have to use the luggage rack on top for all my undergraduate professors from Indiana University and my graduate professors from The University of Texas, and I have no idea where to put my colleagues from King Middle School in Kansas City, Missouri; the ones from L.B.J. High School in Austin, Texas; or my current teaching friends from North Central High School and the Metropolitan School District of Washington Township in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Perhaps I will have to add a sidecar for the countless teaching friends I have met at conferences, the ones I have come to know via social media, and people who have supported me on this incredible journey, for you see, every single educator I have ever known has had a hand in my being able to represent my state as the 2014 Indiana Teacher of the Year.

Yeah, I should have gotten a bigger van.

Mr. Perkins Goes to Washington, Part 1

I am unlikely to engage in a filibuster as Jimmy Stewart did, but I am getting ready to go to Washington, D.C. next week with the other State Teachers of the Year from across the country.  Fifty-four of us, including the STOYs from the Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, and the District of Columbia, will participate in a week of activities that include meetings with the Department of Education, a reception hosted at the home of the Vice President by Dr. Jill Biden, and an event with President Barack Obama.  Each of us will have the chance to take a picture with the President in the Oval Office, after which we will join him in the Rose Garden for an event that will be streamed live at www.whitehouse.gov.

I am honored to represent Indiana students, teachers, and families as I join with some of the most dynamic educators I have had the pleasure to know, and I would love to have you along for the ride.  Please follow me through posts on this blog and through the following.

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I look forward to sharing this exciting event with everyone who cares about that most human and humane of enterprises, the shared journey of discovery that we call education.