Day Seven: Who was/is My Most Inspirational Colleague?

The kids called him Mr. L, we all called him Mark. He was the in-class support teacher in an inclusion Language Arts class I co-taught in Philadelphia.

Dynamic, energetic, grounded, adaptable, warm, and organized, Mark was like the eye of the hurricane. That classroom was crowded--33 8th graders in a room that was meant for 24. We had daily facilities issues: mice, cockroaches, extreme temperature issues, and an old radiator that would hiss and bang like Beowulf's Grendel. Our students struggled with emotional issues, hunger issues, and the normal teenage drama. Yet through it all, Mark was positive, calm, and able to steer the whole flying circus in a productive direction.

And he NEVER... spilled his coffee.