"How'd you get to be so smart, Dante*?" I asked as we entertained ourselves on the long walk out to the busses by creating story problems. "I don't know," he humbly replied. "Something has to make you so smart," I prodded, attempting to encourage this English language learner to verbalize his thinking. "I just follow my brain," was his wise reply, no doubt in an attempt to get me off his back. As I helped him cross the parking lot to his father's minivan, I realized that Dante had it figured out. In this life, to be smart is to follow one's brain. And so begins this blog.
*Names of students in this blog will be changed for privacy.
