When my dad died he had 30 years of sobriety. He learned a lot of “pearls of wisdom” as he called them, during those years. One was to listen very closely to the person everyone else thinks has nothing to say. It is those people, usually new or struggling to gain any sort of long term sobriety, who teach us the most important lessons about staying sober.

I thought about that today as I drove into work. Today is a district institute day. Most teachers hate these days. Oh the horror that someone might come in and attempt to teach me about education. Usually, the most common complaint is that these presenters are just rehashing old material.

My question is, “If perhaps they are rehashing what you already know then why aren’t you using it in the classroom?”