Why Teach? This Is Why…

In my previous life, I was a math teacher. I taught for ten years; in a public high school in the Bay Area, a public high school in New York City, and then a private middle school. Each school had its strengths and difficulties, but I was drawn to teach, not just because of my love of the subject matter, but because of my love for the students. Many students were my first children; people that I cared for, worried about, cried over, and loved.

 

Graduating from Stanford with my MA in 2003.

Graduating from Stanford with my MA in 2004. I thought graduate school was hard, but nothing is as hard as your first year teaching.

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Teaching Kids to Ski- Ski Harnesses

Greetings from Sunriver, Oregon, where Ken, the kids and I are spending post-Christmas with my parents, brother, his wife, and their three kids.  Lots of family (and kid cousin time) which has been great, as always.  We have spent tons of time here both in the winter and summer, and regardless of when we come, it is an amazing escape and reminds me of home.

 

Ken and I have talked about prioritizing skiing for our kids, but the reality is that living in New York, it is easier said than done.  East Coast skiing is a long way from NYC, a huge time commitment, and not ideal weather (wind, ice = opposite of powder and dryness).  West Coast skiing is even further from New York, and super-expensive.  And frankly, if given the choice of where to vacation during the winter, I will take beach over mountain nine times out of ten.

 

This vacation with my family was the first good opportunity to really push skiing on Cruz, and so far, it has been a success.  Here are Ken (The Josie Guy’s) pointers after his first venture on mountain with Cruz.  Enjoy!

 

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While we initially hoped Cruz would be gung-ho about ski school, he wasn’t.  All good. I didn’t ski a ton growing up and am definition intermediate/(old) with below average technique, but I was excited to give it a shot.  Kind of the blind leading the blind, but so be it.  If you are in a similar position (want your kids to ski, not an awesome skier yourself, trying to figure out how to tackle things), you may find this helpful.

 

Morning of Day 1

Morning of Day 1

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