The Sycamore trees remind me of growing up in Modesto. A baby ladybug lands on my neck and I let it crawl around the keyboard of my MAC like it’s in a giant labyrinth. Strangers share the table and offer me some of their lunch. Moms with strollers walk by [...]
Damn you Anthony Bourdain. Death is one thing, inevitable, unavoidable, the only thing we all have in common but self-inflicted death is quite another. And at 61, when your career and health seem OK, WTF? You were that guy we turned to whenever we needed a mini-staycation. Can’t think [...]
The diaper T-shirts have improved my professional confidence by 23%. These blog posts have improved my writing mojo by 23%. Dropping booze brain has given me 23% more time. Coaching sports has led to a 23% increase in work satisfaction. Are you getting where I’m going with this? Or [...]
The surprise manscaping was a nice bonus. I wasn’t 100% in the morning but there are many mornings that I am not 100%. Could have been the birthday weekend with the boys in Squaw Valley, could have been the snowboarding fall on Sunday which had me thinking maybe it’s [...]
A very strange and rain-soaked tennis season ended with the SVHS boys winning, well, everything, and I gotta tell you, I kinda like it. http://www.sonomanews.com/sports/8278981-181/sonoma-takes-scl-singles-doubles?artslide=10 Sure it’s about the journey and all that crap but really, it feels good to win. I walked around the plaza the other day [...]
“Walk out of a meeting or drop off a call as soon as it is obvious you aren’t adding value. It is not rude to leave, it is rude to make someone stay and waste their time.” Elon Musk has it right; I wish others felt the same way. I’m [...]
I really should be down in the cave at Nicholson Ranch schmoozing with my 12 wine tour clients but I’d rather be reading. I really should be working on my platform for administrative interview questions but I’d rather be reading. I really should be sketching by the lake but I’d [...]
4:30 am on a Friday morning and I’m actually the third person up in the house. Daughter and wife just left for the high school to pick up a few other students and catch a flight to Washington. My big concern is what to wear to the Frank and [...]
The head of curriculum is in my art room and I can see she has some concerns. It’s Thursday morning, a week before SIFF 2018 and controlled chaos would be a good description of the scene. There is a painting station outside under the overhang with three students, a second [...]
Four years is all I need Four years to prove that student-centered learning is what it’s all about. I’m using the Rahm Emanuel/Arnie Duncan model from Chicago. From crap to well, better. Progress not perfection. Four years to completely turn SVHS around. And it won’t be pretty, think Balboa High [...]
Walt Williams is in it for the money, that and the prestige that goes with 22 years of teaching in California high schools (he’s not the smartest tool in the shed). He firmly believes in more standardized testing and that fitting all students into the same box is really the answer. He strongly supports fracking and that climate change is a fantasy made up by hippie liberals, also that the military needs more funding and that schools should just stop whining.
Walt brings a lifetime of experience and energy to this new endeavor. He was the principal of the Arts and Ethics Academy in Santa Rosa for two years, and has spent the last 15 years engaging students in finding their paths at Creekside High School. He is the father of two and the husband of one and lives in Sonoma, California.
Walt is a skier; fly fisherman, wine tour bus driver, tennis player, and sometimes writer. He likes to dress up in front of lots of people and display large works of art around the community. His mantra is to work hard, create and love. Complex life, simple message.
