Near the end of the movie “The Wizard of Oz”, the wizard reveals the balloon by which he intends to take Dorothy back to Kansas. He says, “I, your Wizard par ardua ad alta, am about to embark upon a hazardous and technically unexplainable journey into the outer stratosphere to confer, converse, and otherwise hob-nob with my brother wizards” (Screenplay, 1939 Wizard of Oz – movie script by Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Alan Woolf, based on the book by L. Frank Baum)
One time, I was preparing to go to an education conference. A colleague asked what I do at these conferences, and I said “hob-nob with other wizards”. The more conferences I attend and the more friends I make among other presenters, the more wizardly it feels. So I looked up some dictionary definitions of “wizard” and aside from magic and the maleness of distinguishing from witches, there are many great definitions including clever, excellent, amazing, brilliant, expert, and other really neat words.
The NAEYC Professional Development Institute that year was about as full of wizards as any conference I’ve ever attended. Leaders in the field sat and learned in workshops given by other leaders in the field. It was an amazing few days of learning. The last workshop I attended was about making blogs. So I came home and created this blog. I hope you join me in this blogging adventure and that you find it fun and educational.
