First Year of Shalem; View: Ft. Funston (from FB)

Well. Impossible as it may sound, The Shalem School has just wrapped up its first year. Our students took their last exams today and emerged from school into the gentle embrace of light and wind; teachers softened in look and gesture; textbooks settled into warm spots on shelves to gather the sun-baked dust of summer. Over on the Western front, my students at Meira took their AP Calculus exams two weeks ago. Some have graduated. One wrote "perseverance" on her graduation cap because, she said, I had taught her that long problems were a matter of perseverance! (This was one of my little in-class jokes: "Do you know why cats do well on their AP Calculus exams? Because of purrseverance!")

Young people are lovely--infuriating and lovely--and when they understand something they are absolutely radiant. But now I'm a little tired. To celebrate, a retrospective bike ride through San Francisco: Fort Funston, Stern Grove, the Botanical Garden, maybe some others.