Let me pause to reflect on a more personal matter today.  Today, my second child, Kaitie,  just completed her last day of high school.  She will graduate from high school next weekend, but today was her last day of a free education.  

 

I am a blessed man to have had her in my life for these past eighteen years.  I remember her first word (it was “pretty”) and her love for all things beautiful.  She is full of life and energy, yet still down to earth and well grounded.  As a child she, and I, watched a lot of “Little House on the Prairie.”  I would say she has a bit of Laura Ingalls in her.  

 

In terms of the flipped class:  She has on occasion shared the stage with me as I have spoken at events.  Most notably, she shared with over 500 educators in Iceland this past spring.   She was in some of the early Flipped-Mastery classrooms where the method was being created and has a lot to share with teachers about how well the model worked for her.  

 

Kaitie has a love for learning.  She is interested in so much and wants to know about everything.  She is comfortable with technology, but also loves to play with clay and enjoys sewing her own clothing.  She isn’t enamored with reading on the screen.  She would rather curl up with a paper book.  She deeply cares about others and demonstrates this often.  She has an amazing ability to stand in front of folks and share what she thinks.  I wouldn’t describe her as strong-willed, but I would describe her as having a strong backbone.  She will stand up for what she believes without hesitation.  

 

She plans to study Art Education at the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater in the fall.  She is excited that they have not only a great Art Education program, but also an amazing dance program.  It has been truly an honor to have been a part of her life for these past eighteen years.  Though I will still be a part of her life in the future, I know it will be different.  

 

I am very proud of her and look forward to what she will become.  So, though she will be graduating from high school, she as at her heart a learner–and learners never truly graduate.

 

A proud papa

 

3 thoughts on “A Learner Never Graduates

  1. Very Encouraging!

    Hats off to your daughter! True..there is no end for learning, it is an enduring process..and in this journey we tend to learn and unlearn many lessons. Learning is the ultimate key for our development, it makes us different human being.

    Thanks for sharing.

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