Sometimes you just gotta take a break from your life.
Over the last, wait a sec...lemme count...17 months I've permitted myself to do only what I wanted to do, when I wanted to do it. It's been grand. I'm both accustomed and addicted to the feeling now.
Since closing The English Schoolhouse as a language school this time last year, I've published 5.8 books (the sixth will be available once Phil my illustrator updates the back cover), traveled quite a bit, started on some really interesting projects...just basically given myself permission to live.
One thing I know, though, is that education is one of my main passions. I can't quit it. Even while I'm brainstorming about seemingly unrelated topics, a main pull for me seems to somehow always lead back to kids and learning. Recently the focus has been on MY kids and THEIR learning. I taught kindergarten for quite some time in the states, and have always wanted to develop a curriculum for teaching kids to read and write with a passion. I've taught dozens of children to be literate over a little more than a decade and have had an increasingly strong pull to develop and share an effective curriculum to teach learners from all backgrounds the fundamentals of reading.
I have two young sons, Noah and Milo, ages 6 and 3 respectively. This curriculum that I am developing and launching soon is with them in mind, as well as the countless other children whom I know will benefit from it.
The schoolhouse will not reopen as an actual school. I may dabble in a bit of outsourcing, but only if I am able to find and train and vouch for the right teachers. And if I do move in that direction the number of teachers with whom I work is guaranteed to be tiny. That's, after all, what made the schoolhouse magic when it was open. Small, intimate, genuine lessons. As we begin again this fall, we'll be focusing on teacher trainings and matching families who want highly trained English language teachers in Rome for outsourced lessons with the right educators. We're making the natural shift to consulting and providing high quality educational experiences on a broader platform.
Stay tuned! We think you'll like what we have in store.
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