Sometimes a position announcement reaches out and grabs ahold of me

I'm certain that it appears I'm no longer actively seeking a school position Not so; what I am doing is being much more selective in what position announcements I bother responding to. While I'm still called to teach, I also realize that I'm actually doing good where I am right now Every once in a while, a position announcement reaches out and grabs me. I felt the grip of this one. The school

is seeking a high school English teacher for the 2008-09 school year (courses will probably include 9th grade, 11th grade, AP English, and Creative Writing). The successful candidate will join an exceptional team of teachers and work with curious, passionate, and capable students in grades nine through twelve. Qualified candidates will have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in English and at least three years teaching experience. We are particularly interested in candidates with experience in project-based learning, the Writing Process, interdisciplinary teaching, differentiated learning, and innovative curriculum. The position also involves active participation in duties related to a residential community oriented high school (faculty meetings, advisory, evening and periodic weekend duty, and attendance at all-school events). The school is enjoying maximum enrollment of 100 students (50 male, 50 female), 80% are residential students. Commitment to experiential education and project based learning.

I've written the academic dean, indicating my interest in the position. We'll see where it ends up. Picture from this post is from Ojai Valley Photo Gallery.

Worth 25 minutes of your life

| View | Upload your own

Hit the green button, and you'll feel as if you're at the conference.

Education and Creativity

What an awesome talk from TED:



About my job search: What search?

;-)

Still here; still looking; still slow going

Well, it's been more than a month since I've posted. In the blogosphere, that is an eternity, and any regular readers I might have had here have certainly gone onto other places on the Internet.

I'll not provide excuses for my lack of posting, other than to say I've been doing other "stuff." Some of it has involved other places in the blogosphere; please don't feel like the forsaken woman (or man) as that has certainly not been my intention. In part, there's been no news to post here.

Frankly, my job search has gone nowhere. I've been complacent with it. I think part of that comes from being content (more or less) in my current job. We have some new things going on, and I've been slightly rejuvenated with those initiatives.

On my RSS reader, I have 228 job announcements tagged, but I haven't applied to any of them... except one which is a repeat school from last hunting season. Nothing has spoken to me except for this one; I keep waiting for something to jump off the board and announce, "This is it. This is the job and the life for you!" Just the one.

Of course, I only need (or want) one job.

The Stinsons by the Elizabeth traveled to see the Stinsons in the Wilds of Pennsylvania for Easter. My parents were thrilled, as they hadn't seen Jack (or any of us) for over a year. Late on Monday, my parents and I were sitting around the dining room table and they asked about the search and my plans. I mentioned that I had hope as my father had a twenty year long job search; he flinched. He said I was mistaken.

I guess it's a matter of perspective. I remember he went on an interview at an all girls school in Poughkeepsie, NY in 1974. I remember this because (a) I have pictures and (b) I ran up and down the dormitory halls and the girls yelled, "Boy on the floor." My father didn't get the job (head of school), and the school closed within a couple of years later. He remained where he was a rector until sometime in 1991 or 1992 when he accepted a call to a church in eastern Pennsylvania. And, there were applications and interviews in the intervening years.

Okay, that's not a full two decades, and maybe the search wasn't active the whole time, but, for me, the point is still clear: sometimes it takes a while for the right call to come along. In the mean time, continue to good work where you are.

So, while I'm hopeful for this new opportunity at the Little School on the Prairie; may this be the call I'm waiting for... and, no matter what, may I continue to good work here along the shores of the Elizabeth.

---

The picture with this post is by David Morris who posts at flickr as iowa_spirit_walker; the picture is used here with his kind permission and under a Creative Commons license.

Silence: Flu and uncertainty in what to say

Wikipedia Concept Map
Originally uploaded by juhansonin

Things have clopped along here at the Stinsons Along the Elizabeth. Jennifer has had morning sickness for what seems like four months now. And we were hit with the full force of this season's flu, a strain not in the vaccination; we were down for the count for two weeks.

Now, on the reason for the post: Wikipedia as a source.

From Barbara Nguyen at The Editors Weblog: Top (news)papers reference Wikipedia and raise question of website’s credibility as source. Evidently, Jimmy Wales, co-founder of Wikipedia, thinks the encyclopedia's best journalistic use is for background research rather than as a source to be quoted.

I'd say the same goes for academic papers. I wouldn't ban its use, but I'd certainly want substantial supporting documentation.

As to the job search: let's say that good news doesn't come in thin envelopes.

Ranting in an age of near infinite knowledge accessibility

Crayons Taste Yummy
From taylorkoa22

Brian Kirwin has been ranting over at Bearing Drift with the post It ain’t true, but they keep saying it. On the state of education in today's world, he wrote,

My kid’s school is great, but all the others are horrible

This is the single biggest impediment to improving schools. Even in Detroit, where 80% of the kids who enter as Freshmen don’t even graduate, you’ll find “but my school is different.” It’s amazing how we expect kids who every day in the real world interact with technology that the Apollo 11 astronauts didn’t have, they have access to a worldwide goldmine of information in a world that’s quicker, multitask-oriented, interactive and incentive-based, and we wonder why 30 kids in a room with a common textbook working at a unified pace with no incentive to do any better than the person sitting next to them results in a generation of students so bored with education that we face the real risk of creating a nation of salespeople marketing the inventions and innovations of other nations.

Until we adopt an education model that is interactive, individualized and incentive-laden, schools will continue to try to improve their outdated, 20th century models like Edison’s competitors tried to make better candles or blacksmiths who thought better horses were an adequate response to Ford’s new carriage.

Indeed. I think the Coalition of Essential Schools might have a possible answer. I know others do, also.

What is it that is holding the American education system back?

Your thoughts?

The heat has turned up slightly

Here in southeastern Virginia, it's been a balmy winter. Today the heat was up, and everyone was out in short sleeves.

The search for an answer to my call is also heating up a bit. I have a couple nibbles at the moment. One is for an assistant head position at a day school with a unique environmental focus. I've been tinkering with my credentials file, particularly the page Search Objective for Peter Stinson.

I did a major rework of one section, going so far as to delete Desired school characteristics and in its place put The ideal school.

This is the section which was, in essence, left on the cutting room floor:

Desired school characteristics

Selection Criteria for all schools:

• Non-profit
• College prep or college bound
• Maintain similar standard of living as current
• Co-ed or all boys

Additional Selection Criteria for boarding schools:

• 325 students, max
• 35% day students, max
• 1:9 faculty:student ratio, max
• 25% international students, max

Additional Selection Criteria for day schools and day/boarding schools in the United States:

• 400 students max (upper school)
• Casual dress
• Follows Coalition of Essential Schools or other progressive program
• If private school, must be an "independent" school
• Maximum faculty/student ratio 1:11

Additional Selection Criteria for schools outside the United States:

• 400 students max (upper school)
• May be an "American" school or an "International" School
• Maximum faculty/student ratio 1:15
• Prefer for school to offer the IB

You can see the new page here. Pay particular attention to the ideal school section.

I'd be interested to hear what you think.

Also, I re-ordered the sections; do you think it flows better?

Please do comment below, and please ask others to provide me feedback also. Thanks.

How have you lived your life? Insights for us all.

I wanted to pass along two videos I came across recently that I think would be of benefit to all the folks in the ever-shifting blogsophere. They're both from Randy Pausch from Carnegie Mellon.

Well, he's actually on a leave of absence from Carnegie Mellon and has moved to Chesapeake, Virginia, with his family.

Anyway, there are two talks he gave this past fall. Devout members of the blogosphere have likely seen one or both of them, or at least heard about them.

One is called "The Last Lecture" which is a Carnegie Mellon lecture series: if you had one last lecture to give... In his case, it is nearly his last lecture as he is dying from pancreatic cancer. It's an awesome lecture about living life and succeeding at goals.

The second lecture is one that he evidently gave somewhat frequently, but gave again at UVA (where he was a professor before going to Pittsburgh) in November.

Both of these are worth the time to watch.

• The Last Lecture
• Time Management

For those who would like more information about Randy and his life and work, there's plenty on the web. Here are a couple of sites.

• A site by one of his mentees at UVA
• Randy's own site at CMU

Enjoy.

---

Cross posted at Tidewater Musings, An Unofficial Coast Guard Blog, and Coast Guard Performance Excellence.

Just how technology savvy are you?

Valerio Mezzanotti for The New York Times
Originally uploaded by vegasmike433

I came across a list of technology-based interview questions for independent and international schools to use with new faculty members. Jeff Utecht at The Thinking Stick proposes that these questions will allow you to see how excited a prospective faculty member is about technology and how they might integrate technology into the classroom or their other work in a school community.

I though these questions were very thought-provoking; I took a stab at answering them (before really studying Jeff's analysis of each question); I liked the results so much that I posted my replies in my employment credentials package.

Your thoughts? Comments below, please.

Haidho American School in Sarkhan: Part 2

Haboob
From Jonathan @ Gaucin

For anyone following my journey and wondering how I dealt with the Haidho American School, here was my reply to the superintendent, after many days of wondering what to say.

I decided to just take an open approach:

Thanks so much for your note back. I hope the New Year finds you and yours and the school community safe.

I appreciate your kind words and your straight-forward feedback. While finances are certainly critical, I've always thought that nearly
everything financial is negotiable, particularly if the "fit" is "fine." If you find, as the hiring season rolls along, you'd like to continue the conversation, please don't hesitate to get in touch with me. The opportunities present at Haidho American School are innumerable, and I would thrive on working in the HAS community.

I wish you a most excellent 2008.

I suspect, however, that while I may hear again from the head of HAS, I'll not be packing my bags for Sarkhan.

I did see a posting for a dean of students position at a day school nearby; I sent off my letter of inquiry this morning.

Making a long-term impact on students: Experiential Learning

Project U.S.E.
From Project U.S.E.

Recently, I read about a Spanish teacher at Olentangy Liberty High School, Erica Vieyra, who had her Spanish V students take on a role playing exercise: they were to "assume a Latino identity, build an imaginary life in your home country and develop a workable plan to immigrate to the United States," as noted in an article by Holly Zachariah in the Columbus Dispatch.

The project has raised a fair bit of controversy amongst many, including some loud voices in the blogosphere. I think the critics are missing the point. This is not about liberal indoctrination or teaching students how to break the law; this is about getting students to learn through experience.

If I am representative of the typical American student when it comes to foreign languages, twenty-five years from now Ms. Vieyra's students will remember little, if any, actual Spanish. But, they will likely remember the many lessons learned from completing this project.

The same goes for the Newark, New Jersey, students who participated in the project pictured with this post. They spent three months building the boats and then launching them in the Passaic River. The project worked to integrate the usual academic disciplines with an experiential and hands-on approach.

I seek the opportunity to work in a school which embraces this sort of teaching and learning.

Oh, that actually has a name?

This afternoon I was scrolling through my RSS reader, and one feed caught my eye: Are we doing anything today?

Every year my students read All Quiet on the Western Front. I force them through the process of a Quaker Read then into developing a poem from lines culled from the chapter. It takes a couple of days of work, but looking at the poems and listening to their comments makes the effort worthwhile.

A Quaker Read?

Perhaps I've been out of the classroom too long, but I had no idea what a Quaker Read is.

From a webpage at Seattle University, Reading Response and Discussion Strategies, we learn,

Quaker Read
Readers fist select a significant passage, line, or phrase from the reading. Then, seated in a circle giving no explanation or rationale, one student reads his/her selection aloud. In no particular order, another reader adds his/her selection, and on and on. The key is to listen and consider how your selected passage connects to (or even contrasts with) the passage read. Remind students that lulls, pauses, and repeated passages are fine.

Oh, it has a name...

I'm not worth 6 Round Trip Tickets?

Shri Diwa International School
Originally uploaded by Mun Mun

Well, okay, that's not quite true.

I applied to The Haidho American School in Sarkhan; they'd advertised a need for a counselor and an English teacher. (And, yes, Haidho is the fictional capital of the fictional country Sarkhan in The Ugly American. I've changed the names to protect the innocent; as I'm the guilty one here, we will not bothering adopting a fictional pose and personna.)

Here's what I received back from my initial e-mail:

Dear Peter:

I have just spent some time reading through your website, enjoying reading about your career and your many accomplishments. In so many ways, you are the kind of person I'm looking for to join the staff of Haidho American School but I have to be quite honest with you that it would be a real strain for us to hire a faculty member with a spouse and four children, delightful as I'm sure they are. Finances are a big part of it, I'm afraid, since we would be committing ourselves to six RT air fares every year plus a much larger apartment (probably 4 bedrooms) than we normally use for faculty (apartments here in Haidho are going for about $1,500-1,800/month for 2-or 3-bedroom flats).

In virtually every other aspect, HAS meets what you're looking for in an independent school and more and, like I said, you meet what I'm looking for for this vibrant school.

With every best wish for you and your family for the New Year.

Sincerely,

Bill Clinton
Superintendent
Haidho American School
Sarkhan

A couple of days later, and I'm still not sure how to respond. Frankly, in a country like Sarkhan, I might end up as a geo-bachelor, as Jennifer isn't really intrigued with the idea of living in a third-world nation. Well, that and the fact it's actually 7 roundtrip tickets as we have another child in the oven.

I've done this to myself, but that is a totally different post on a totally different blog.

I'm tempted to right back that while I understand that finances does come into play at some point, it ought not be the starting point. Finances is merely one component of all that makes up a deal and is negotiated.

Your thoughts?

Another "alternate" sport: Extreme Sledding

sweetjumpc
Originally uploaded by wme91988

Who'd have thought? Sledding. To the extreme.

We could have races, long and short courses.

And hang out by 55-gallon drums with fire inside; and drink hot chocolate.

And race. With clocks. The real deal.

We wouldn't call it "Extreme Sledding." No, a name like that could bring too much focus and attention. Just call it sledding and join the National Interscholastic Sled Racing Association, or NISRA, and show everyone pictures of snow sledding in Vermont.

More fun with Ask Vox

Random One Reverse
Tidewater Muse

What is Peter Stinson looking for in a school community?

Blogging from "an undisclosed location"

Dissertation Run
@ University of Sussex. By rokou.

While I ought to be working on the dissertation. I ought to be wrapping up the literature review and methodology chapters this weekend. It's not going as well I has I had hoped.

As such, I've decided to create systems to hold myself accountable. The first step in making me accountable is to post my work online; let people see were I am and how much I've done and the like. I'm writing in Google Documents and have enabled publication allowing the most-recently-saved version of my ongoing work will be available for everyong to see. In progress.

To honor completion of my dissertation, rather than run naked through the streets, I'll cut my hair and trim my beard... or maybe even go back to looking like a bowling ball. {{Sidebar: When I went through the Coast Guard's Search & Rescue School, I received an award: "Most Looks Like a Bowling Ball."}}

If you'd like to see my up-to-the-minute work and progress, join me. Read, critique, and comment here on this post.

Crossposted at Tidewater Musings.

A little fun on the Internet

Well, are you?
Originally uploaded by windbourne

Slip over to Ask Vox, and ask it who I am. Type "Who is Peter Stinson?"

What do you think?

When does the compromising start?

Abandoned bikes
Originally uploaded by oliva732000

I've been tracking the jobs posted at the NAIS job site. When something looks of interest, I then look to see if the school meets my criteria. Today I decided that even if a school doesn't meet the criteria, I'll not automatically trash thoughts of serving there.

Next, I'll be nuking the thought of having any criteria...

Quidditch, Dodgeball, and Ultimate Frisbee: Coming to a campus near you

Starting Line
Originally uploaded by plagueoftruth

I recently read about the Muggles Quidditch, sponsored by the Intercollegiate Quidditch Association, at several New England colleges. I thought, "How cool is that?" And then, today, I discovered that dodgeball is actually a sport with a national association; not the American Dodgeball Association of America but the National Amateur Dodgeball Association; or try the National Dodgeball Association.

Why do I mention this here? Well, I'm thinking that these non-traditional sports (and the more I think about it, these really do qualify as athletics) -- which would also include Ultimate Frisbee, Frisbee golf, and Footbag (which, in my day, we called "hacky sack" -- are actually sports which are life-long sports and which don't need a tremendous outlay for equipment. I think we often don't give non-traditional activities much in the way of real look.

I suspect their are other areas we give short shrift to also because they are not traditional. Would a school that was not willing to try alternative sports also be less likely to try and teach to all learning styles? Or, perhaps the school would be less likely to teach to the whole person?

Another presence on the Web

New Credentials Page
Originally uploaded by Tidewater Muse

After consideration, I have nixed my wiki-based credentials package and built a cleaner package using Google pages.

Any thoughts or feedback from the blogosphere?

The call continues: New answers to an old call

Here in SE Virginia, the days are getting shorter, the air is getting cooler, and the holiday rush is right around the corner. Yes, it has been quite a while since I posted here at A School to Call Home. I've been busy with various projects, including working on my dissertation (although, until it is accepted, I'll not have put enough time into it) and keeping up with a semi-work-related blog, An Unofficial Coast Guard Blog. In the back of my mind, however, the thought of returning to a school community has never been far away. My daily list of RSS reads includes Dana Huff and California Teacher Guy. They couldn't be more different, but they have one thing in common: they both have a passion for the classroom and for students and for teaching.

I want to fuel my own passion for the classroom, students, and teaching.

While I'd thought that my personal situation would make it nearly impossible to keep seeking a school position this year and next, I've carefully evaluated things, and sought out the opinions of my wife, sons, and former spouse, and have decided to not only continue looking but to open the search from just indendent boarding schools to include day schools (and even public schools).

As has been true, I still have a list of criteria to screen possibilities. Here's the criteria for this season's search. The first set of criteria is for all schools. Then there's a set of criteria for boarding schools; the third set of criteria is for day schools and boarding schools which don't meet the boarding criteria. In short, I'll still consider boarding schools which don't meet the boarding school criteria, but they must meet the day school criteria.

Selection Criteria for all schools

• Non-profit
• College prep or college bound
• Maintain similar standard of living as current
• Co-ed or all boys

Additional Selection Criteria for boarding schools

• 325 students, max
• 35% day students, max
• 1:9 faculty:student ratio, max
• 25% international students, max

Additional Selection Criteria for day schools and day/boarding schools

• 400 students max (upper school)
• Casual dress
• Follows Coalition of Essential Schools or other progressive program
• If private school, must be an "independent" school
• Maximum faculty/student ratio 1:11

I've also decided that I'm not adverse to using head hunters, as by adding day schools and public schools to the mix, I'm increasing the number of possible schools a hundred-fold.

The working copy of my criteria for a school community can be found at my listography profile.

Food for thought... today's college student

Professional development: An online opportunity

Starting today:

The competition

Joust Competition - Scottish challenger
Originally uploaded by Mr. Physics

I know I ought not, but sometimes I look to see who a school has hired. I'm wondering who filled the role; what chopped liver pate am I? I likely ought not to do this, because in truth it doesn't matter and comparisons like this are evil... but I do it anyway.

A year ago, I looked to see who filled an English teaching job at a boarding school I'd thought I had a good interview with. They hired a young woman who had just finished a master's degree in the teaching of English from William & Mary.

Today, I looked to see who was filling the role of counselor at another school I'd had what I thought were good interviews. He holds a bachelor's and master's degrees from schools in southern Mississippi; he most recently served as a behavior specialist in a rural school district in Mississippi. And, he lists his athletic background as "wilderness activities, mountain climbing, rock climbing, body building, dirt bike racing." And I doubt he's a day over 30...

Oh, it's that time of the year again?

St Swithins
Originally uploaded by MrGiles

Can we hope that the third time's a charm?

Robert Kennedy at About: Private Schools posted today:

You know the sinking feeling you had first week of school. Things have changed for the worse at St. Swithin's as far as you are concerned. You just aren't happy there any more. After five years it's time to move on. So, just how marketable are you anyway? Ponder this question as you read How Marketable Are You?

The window for finding a new job is a narrow one. It runs from Now through February 15 or thereabouts. If you are thinking about a move, you'd better get moving now!

I'm off and running, and clearly this is a marathon and not a sprint.

This is what I crave

The Almighty Punahou School
Originally uploaded by SandyRat

Over at Throughlines, Bruce Schauble recently wrote

Once upon a time I thought that if I stayed at something long enough, it would eventually get easier. That has turned out to be true in some cases. I can, for example, after three years of practice, now play a C major scale on the piano with both hands without screwing it up too badly. I can throw together a salad in five minutes before dinner, without injuring myself, whereas once it was even money if I could get it done without breaking into the Band-Aid box.

But this is my 38th year of teaching, and I've gotta tell ya, whatever else it is, it isn't easier. The teaching part is always interesting and always challenging in a good way. It's the stuff that's going on around the edges just keeps getting more complex.

I want to work in a community of thoughtful people; I want to work with people who believe, like Mr. Schauble, that teaching is "always interesting and always challenging in a good way."

Perhaps as I expand my search to day schools, I'll add Mr. Schauble's Punahou School.

Talk like a Pirate Day!

Talk like a Pirate Day!
Originally uploaded by aromig52

Oh, to have a classroom where we could all talk like a pirate for the day! Don't let the 19th slip past without embracing your inner pirate.

My school is currently looking for a headmaster. Would you consider that type of job?

P3220105
Originally uploaded by Tidewater Muse

Yes.

There's a slew of "howevers" however.

Several weeks ago, my son Richard asked me if I won the lotto, would I build a boarding school? Interesting question, and it does get at the root of the question: What do I truly want to do?

My answer to this question is shifting slightly. What's shifting? I think the main thing that is shifting is I want to put my leadership skills to work.

That's all for now... and, yes, I realize that's not a complete answer or a complete thought. Off to Richard's school for a meeting with his teachers... More to follow.

The Internet is an amazing thing

Cathedral in the Forest
Originally uploaded by algo

I am amazed at what the Internet does and can do. I've met fantastic people using the tools of the Internet; I've had some great times with people I've met using the tools of the Internet; I've reconnected with friends and colleagues lost through time using the Internet. And today, as I'm discounting even the possibility of teaching this year and gearing up for a busy fall at work and completion of my dissertation, I receive an email with the subject line of "English Teacher."

Hi, I am the Director of Studies at St. Swithins School in Middle of Everywhere, New England. My wife found your blog while doing web searches for our school. Are you still looking for a position?

Okay, I've changed the name to my default St. Swithins, but even so, amazing. Even if nothing comes of this, I'll chalk even the possibility up to the power of the Internet.

And, as I'm still reading the NAIS job board, I guess I am "still looking."

Dissertation Progress

Dissertation Run 4
Originally uploaded by rokou

Forgot to mention... received the following email yesterday:

Peter,

Congratulations! You have an approved Concept Paper. Now it's on to your Proposal. Review the Power Point and the Dissertation Guide on the ARC website before you start. If you have any questions just ask.

Good Luck with your job search.

Take care.

Dr. Regina

For anyone who wants to suffer through my concept paper (which will become Chapter 1 of the final dissertation), you can find the work posted here.

The academic year begins to swing

first teacher meeting of the year
Originally uploaded by dbstrother

August is two-thirds of the way past, and across the US of A, teachers are gearing up to return to the classroom. Anticipation. Excitement. Fear. Hope.

As we all know, I'll not be in a classroom. Yesterday, at a farewell party for a family leaving our church for a new assignment in Bath, Maine, someone asked me about my job search. That I was standing there this late in August spoke more volumes than I could have actually uttered.

Scanning the headlines, I learned that my high school alma mater has new faculty and staff. Not surprising. What did surprise me was the age of the two faculty profiled. I'm getting old. The article profiled the new athletic director and assistant athletic director at the school. The new AD graduated from Yale in 1998; she spent the last five years coaching and teaching at Saint Mark's School in Southborough, MA. The assistant AD graduated from Baylor in 2004. Okay, that makes them something like 32 and 25.

Perhaps I'm too old to be even have considered getting back into the boarding school biz. I remember when I was a college senior looking for a boarding school position, I was told I was too young. I earned a master's degree and landed a job. Now, at the age of 45, I seem to be too old. Some how, I slept through the prime time to land a job.

August spins to a close

the birth of a better Day
Originally uploaded by COWsignal

Well, here we are in the middle of August, and the month is now full-tilt spinning to a close. Pretty much all bets are off for my candidacy to an independent boarding school. I do have one recently submitted application, but in general all is quiet and no options remain open.

I'm at peace with the situation. Very much so.

Certainly, I still have the burning desire, but I am now working on ways that I can quench, if not fulfill, the desire, one component at a time.

This week, I'm teaching at a conference for officer trainees in the College Student Pre-Commissioning Initiative. It's nice to be helping provide for the success of these young Coasties.

Last week I met several representatives of colleges and universities who serve military members, and they encouraged me to consider adjunct faculty positions. I will, as I think it will help provide me a venue to make a difference in the lives of those around me.

So, at the moment, I'm looking forward to new venues to teach, coach, and counsel.

Defense Against the Dark Arts

i deftly deflect cara's blast
Originally uploaded by theparadigmshifter

My lovely bride has suggested that I apply to Hogwarts for the Defense Against the Dark Arts faculty position... at least I'd get a year's worth of work, and it would be exciting...

Perhaps it is time for me to move to Springfield

Came home from church today to find an interesting email waiting for me in the in-tray:

Sincerely hope your job hunt progressing. I came across your site researching schools for my son, and since you are so sharp and open and love teaching