Star Wars and American History Mashups

Cloned Photos by David Eger

It has been hard to escape the media onslaught which is the Star Wars release. I am a fan of the Star Wars series but not a FAN like my brother. I have seen what I consider "the original three" but not the more recent ones. I collected a few Star War action figures in my childhood and remember having a set of Star Wars trading cards.  My family has not seen The Force Awakens but will over Christmas break while visiting family.

It has been interesting to see historical memes and creations mashing up history and Star Wars. Facebook and Twitter have been full of these this week.  My favorite has to be the Washington Post article on how Ken Burn would tell the Galactic Civil War story in Civil War documentary format.


I have also enjoyed the many historical images that have Star Wars adaptations.  There are a couple of my favorite George Washington Star Wars images.

America - I am your father! by Breanna Towne

George Washington and the Rebels Take on the Empire by Michael Milton

Star Wars to Teach Art History by Artsology

Star Wars American History Prints

Lesson Plan - My Three Artifacts

Visiting the 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York City

Before leaving New York on my trip this week, I had a half day to essentially do anything I wished in New York City. The 9/11 memorial and museum were not completed when I was in New York City in 2008 when I was here last so I decided to spend my day visiting this historic site.

Everyone of this generation has their own 9/11 story. My own was as a teacher who had just started teaching in a new school district. I had just started my career at Liberty Public Schools a couple of weeks earlier - I'm still here after 15 years by the way. I was teaching on the third floor of what was then Liberty Junior High. During the passing period in the morning the teacher next door mentioned that something crazy had happened in New York - a plane had crashed into a building. Of course then more details unfolded throughout the day and significance of the events began to soak in. I didn't have a personal connection to anyone who lost their life that day but I will never forget the overwhelming feeling that night that things would never be the same again, for any of us. I wasn't sure exactly how things would be different but just like Pearl Harbor or the assassination of JFK, this would be a marker in each person's timeline that denoted the separation between pre 9/11 and post 9/11.

I got on the subway and arrived at the museum early. It opened at 9 am and I think I bought my ticket at around 8:50. It wasn't really crowded when I entered the museum but it progressively became more crowded throughout the morning. I opted not to rent the device to listen to the self guided audio tour for $7. The same content is available on the free 9/11 museum app. I tried to download it at the museum but the wifi wasn't fast enough - or I wasn't patient enough - to let it completely download. I walked the museum without the audio tour and never felt like I was missing out on anything but I'm sure it would be beneficial for some. I tend to read a lot of artifact tags and in parts of the museum there were video and audio clips included in the exhibits. 

The museum had two really powerful elements for me - the wreckage from the towers and the way in which the personal stories of the victims were shared. I have seen pieces of the towers in other museums but when see the steel that absorbed the impact of the first plane and the crushed New York City fire department truck it becomes real in a new way, or at least it did for me. The first part of the museum was largely about the building itself and objects from the towers. 

One powerful display in the first part of my museum experience was a wall made up of about 3,000 blue squares - each representing a person who lost their life on 9/11. The quote in the middle of the wall reads "No day shall erase you from the memory of time". The display explained that each square depicts a different shade of the blue sky that morning and each of the squares is a unique shade of blue. It represents the idea that each of us may see the same thing - like a blue sky - and yet each of us has a different way of describing and experiencing it. I thought this wall had a powerful meaning both artistically and emotionally. 

The second emotional part of the museum for me was the area in which each person who lost their life has their picture displayed on the four walls of the room. In the middle of the space is an enclosed room in which each person has a video with a description of their life, a picture and a family member telling a little about the person. The videos are on a continual loop. This was very powerful. To see all the faces and then pause to listen to a couple of these stories was moving to say the least. 

The final part of the museum for me was the area in which the events of 9/11 are described with video accounts, artifacts from that day and wreckage from when the towers fell. We have all seen the video clips many times but seeing the plane hit the towers still gets me. I was also especially struck by the items recovered from both the towers and the planes.

There were several times during visit when I got a pit in my stomach and felt very emotional. The museum was somewhat crowded at this point - tickets are timed but not everyone spends the same amount of time in various spaces - and yet almost no one spoke. There was an occasional child asking a parent "why did this happen?" Followed by a parent struggling to find words to explain. I also noticed many people from other countries which reminded me that this was not just an American tragedy, it impacted the rest of the world as well.

Perhaps the most emotional experience for me in the museum was a small area in which people could sit and listen to some of the phone calls made from Flight 93 - the United flight where people knew what was happening and quite a few made phone calls to loved ones saying that the plane had been hijacked, they loved their family members and hoped they would see them again. Of course it also goes on to describe how these passengers decided they must try to regain control of the plane and in the struggle it crashed in Pennsylvania. As I listened to those phone calls made from the flight I started to cry in a room full of strangers. I wasn't the only one but at that point the humanity of what I was seeing was too ugh to hold inside. I am actually on a plane as I type this blog post on my way back home to see my family. Looking out the window and thinking about what those passengers must have felt knowing what had happened earlier that day in New York and thinking about their loved ones is difficult. 

I left the museum feeling somber and trying to process what I had just seen and experienced. As I type this almost 10 hours later I am still reflecting on the day. After leaving the museum I visited the two reflecting pools located on the footprints of the towers. I looked up and saw the newly constructed Freedom Tower, a symbol that time moves on.

I think the museum and memorial are both successful in their attempt to both tell the story of 9/11 and honor the memory of those who,lost their life that day. It will continue to be a watershed moment for all Americans, even those who were not alive at the time and that is important. The 8th graders that I teach today have no personal recollection of experiencing that day and it difficult for me sometimes to remember that fact. I am glad that I visited the site today and I encourage everyone to visit if they have an opportunity. 

Exploring New York - Google NYC Offices, High Line Trail, Chelsea Market, Flatiron Building and Freedom Tower

This past week I was in New York City for several days doing some brainstorming work with Google. The only other time I have visited New York was back in 2008 so I was excited to explore some parts of the city in my share time this week. I have a separate blog post on the hotel at which I stayed – The Jane Hotel – and my visit to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.  In this post I wanted to share a couple of pictures and thoughts on some of the places I visited.

High Line Trail

Twice during my stay I visited the High Line Trail in the evening.  The High Line is an elevated area that at one time was a rail line and in recent years has been converted to an urban walking trail with lots of great art and plants.  The trail itself is very cool with wildflowers and tall grasses on both sides as you stroll through the heart of New York and see the skyscrapers around you.  Several places in the trail have statues, unique places to sit and at numerous locations there are little restaurants and vendors selling items like ice cream sandwiches. 

I walked the High Line at night both times I visited and it was very popular, almost what I would consider ‘crowded” but to a native New Yorker it would probably be considered spacious. It was sunset on the first night I visited and I took quite a few pictures of the sun setting over the Hudson River.  It is a great collision of nature in an urban setting.

Chelsea Market

Just below the High Line trail, literally, is Chelsea Market. Chelsea Market is an eclectic collection of cool food and art shops in a historic building.  I walked around the bought a half price gourmet cupcake (it was close to closing time and it was delicious) as well as some fancy doughnuts. There was a great area in which a large collection of individual artists each had there own area to sell specific handmade items. My favorite was a gentlemen who had taken bike maps of the city of New York and then screen printed a picture of a New York City street scene in black ink on top of the map.  It would be a very cool framed print.

Flatiron Building

One of the items on my “must do” list for this trip to New York was setting the FlatIron Building.  You have probably seen the Flat Iron Building in pictures – it is the iconic tall, almost flat building in New York.  I have always wanted to see it in person but did not get a chance back in 2008 to see it.  I had a little bit of time one night to walk over to the Flat Iron around 7:30 in the evening.  I wasn’t sure what the light would look like when I got there since it was getting later in the day but I thought I would take a chance.  Luckily when I got there the light from the setting sun was still hitting one side of the building.  I thought it made an interesting shadow on the side of the building and I was able to take a few pictures that I think turned out well.  It was interesting to find angles to take pictures of the Flat Iron building with both showed it’s size and the unique flat shape.  I was happy with the pictures that I took and hope next time to maybe get over there in time to see what photographs would like at sunrise.

Freedom Tower

On my visit to the 9/11 Museum on my last day I took a few pictures of the relatively new Freedom Tower.  It is an interesting building to photograph because at different times of the day it can have a pretty intense reflection from the sun.  A couple of the pictures that I took include an area of the building that had a bright reflection.  Some of the pictures I took of the Freedom Tower are from the area around the 9/11 Memorial that includes trees.  It seemed a little unusual taking a picture of this huge skyscraper framed by trees.

Day 17 - Washington at the National Portrait Gallery and New Media at Mount Vernon

Washington - National Portrait Gallery

Today's experiences at Mount Vernon started with tagging along on a field trip into the city.  The Mount Vernon Teacher's Institute had a field trip into DC this morning to explore the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery and I asked if there was room for my to join them.  Luckily there was room and I was able to join the tour.

We arrived at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in the morning prior to the opening of the museum to the general public.  Our focus today was viewing and discussing a variety of George Washington portraits in the gallery. Our guide was Briana Zavadil White, Student and Teacher Programs at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery.  She did a great job of both teaching us about the portraits of Washington but also giving us some tools that we can use with our students when teaching about art, specifically portraits.

We started by looking at some of the more contemporary portraits in the gallery, including LL Cool J and Bill Gates.  This portion of the gallery was our first stop to discuss some of the elements included in analyzing portraits. Next we moved on to the presidential gallery and an examination of some Washington portraits.

Washington and I at the National Portrait Gallery

We stopped first at the famous Lansdowne Portrait of Washington, painted by Gilbert Stuart in 1796. When we reached the portrait we were all given 30 seconds to soak in the paining and then we were asked to turn our back to the portrait and our guide asked us a variety of questions about what we remembered about the picture.  It was interesting to both see what each person found memorable and what details we missed.  It provided everyone an opportunity to explain different things in the painting and was definitely a technique I would use in my classroom when teaching art. The painting is much larger than I had imaged it to be. We also looked at a several other Washington portraits in the gallery including The Anthenaeum, an unfinished work by Gilbert which was said to be a very accurate portrait of Washington and the one you find on your $1 bill.

The Anthenaeum - National Portrait Gallery

Houdon plaster bust of Washington - National Portrait Gallery

The rest of the presidential portraits in the gallery were fascinating.  I especially liked Harry S. Truman and found the more contemporary portrait of Bill Clinton to be interesting.  The museum does not currently have a portrait of President Obama.  He will be contacted in the future to commission a portrait for the gallery.

Truman - National Portrait Gallery

Clinton - National Portrait Gallery

National Portrait Gallery Courtyard

When I returned to Mount Vernon in the afternoon I had a meeting with Matt Briney, Vice President of New Media at Mount Vernon, and Robert Shenk, Senior Vice President for Visitor Engagement at Mount Vernon.  As a geek I am interested in the way in which Mount Vernon is using newly developed apps, online video and social media to connect with visitors here on the grounds and people like me - teachers who want to bring the Mount Vernon experience into our classrooms located around the country. I found it very interesting and I think they also enjoyed hearing the perspective a teacher who uses their content in the classroom. Mount Vernon has a great visitor app and recently launched a new spy app named "Agent 711" in which visitors are able to interact with locations on the grounds while tracking down a spy mission. I think in the future Mount Vernon will have some interesting opportunities for teachers via the Internet.

It was another Tomorrow I will be zeroing in on creating the content for my middle school archaeology unit.  

Day 1 - Mount Vernon Teacher Fellowship

Hello.  Today is the first day of my 2015 Mount Vernon Life Guard Teacher Fellowship if you consider the "travel day" to be the first day.  The first official day of my fellowship begins tomorrow. This afternoon I flew in from Kansas City on a pretty non-district flight - they way they all should be right?! I have been fortunate to visit Washington DC for many events over the past 10 years and when I am flying alone I always try to get the window seat.  The views coming into DC never get old to me.  Today my biggest thrill came from flying over a place I recently read about by chance.  Last week I finished David McCullough's "The Wright Brothers" (great read by the way) and he describes the accident Orville Wright had in 1908 flying at Fort Myer just outside DC.  Orville's passenger that day was Lt. Thomas Selfridge.  He encountered a problem with the propeller and crashed to the ground - Orville was hurt pretty bad and Selfridge died - the first fatality in aviation history.  It took place next to Arlington Cemetery (where Selfridge is buried today) and as we flew directly over I was struck by the act of flying over the site in a jet plane and considering myself extremely safe.

Upon arriving at Mount Vernon I checked into the DeVos House, a residence built next to the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington.  It is an amazing residence to host scholars who are working on projects at the library.  I feel honored to be able to call it home for the next several weeks.  I will check to see if I can share pictures in a later blog post.  It is very nice and as I type this I am sitting in a beautiful screened in porch off the residence with a gorgeous view of some woods.

Tonight's work area

After dinner I walked a little on the estate grounds and took some pictures of the gardens - both upper and lower.  The gardens are one of my favorite parts of the estate and I highly recommend reading the newly published "The General in the Garden" edited by Susan P. Schoelwer if you have an interest in this subject. I took some pictures as the light started to fade away, a couple of videos and some photospheres.

Mount Vernon - the mansion

Mount Vernon - View of of the Potomac from the mansion

Mount Vernon - Lower Garden

In front of the mansion I did a quick Google Hangout with the family back home.  The girls were excited to see the mansion and view of the Potomac.  I plan on doing quite a few Google Hangouts with them to share as much as possible.  In the future we'll be bringing the whole family out here for an extended vacation.

Tomorrow is a big day.  I have meetings with a variety of individuals from the library and I will learn more about utilizing the most extensive collection of research on the life of George Washington.  I will try to post articles and share photos/videos of as much as possible. Thanks for visiting the blog.

Tonight after dinner I walked through the gardens on the estate and took a couple of videos. 

Mount Vernon's lower garden

Step over apple trees at lower garden

Mount Vernon's upper garden

Apply for Ancestry K-12 Education Grant

I recently applied for an educational grant from Ancestry and wanted to share this opportunity with anyone who would also benefit from this opportunity.

Ancestry is currently offering a year of access to it's research to United States K-12 teachers in public and private schools.

I recently applied and have been accepted but my access does not begin until July 1.  I plan to update how we are using this tool in researching family history in the fall of 2015.

Apply for an Ancestry Educational Grant here.

Photo - Discovery Middle School

Discovery Middle School - Liberty, Missouri on May 11, 2015

Nexus 6 with Snapseed Filter

What Helped Me Finish My Dissertation - Eating the Elephant One Bite at a Time

Last week I accomplished a goal that I had been working toward for the past six years - 2,304 days to be exact but who's counting?! I completed my doctoral program - Ed.D. in Teacher Leadership from Walden University. There were many times during those six years that I didn't think I would finish. In fact, I gave up twice - each time for about two days before jumping back in again.

When I completed my course work in the summer of 2011 I thought that the difficult part was behind me.  I naively thought, "I think I'll be able to really get after the dissertation since it I really like my topic (social studies teachers' use of Twitter)". But my problem would not be the topic. Instead my biggest obstacles ending up being time management and the mental hurdle of trying to tackle to the most comprehensive writing project of my life.

I like to read. I enjoy research. I truly wanted to finish this degree but for years finishing the dissertation was like a 1000 pound gorilla on my back.  It was always there and I seemed to be making so little progress.  I read books on tips for finishing your dissertation. I talked to friends who had completed their doctorate. Some things worked and some things didn't.  I think that finding what works as you write your dissertation is a very individualized process but I thought I would share some of the things that helped me in hopes that be sharing them it might help someone else. I do not consider myself an expert in any way. In fact I think that the fact that I did struggle might make these tips more applicable to someone else who is searching for ways to fight through some of the same issues.

You Need a First Draft Before You Can Have a Final Draft

I like to write. I've had numerous articles published over the years and I typically enjoy the process of writing.  I typically make revisions to my work but generally when I write I try to spend a lot of time on my first draft to make it as good as possible.  I guess I would rather spend more time on the first draft instead of a lot time on the back end revising.  That is not the best strategy to employ when writing your dissertation.  There would be long time periods without a draft submitted my chair.  She told me that when I did send her a new section it was typically really good but that if I dialed back my personal expectations for each section I would able to submit more and then we could work on the edits and suggestions.  It all made sense to me, it was just hard for me to do.  I started to make a lot more progress once I abandoned the desire to write really well on the first draft and just write.  I have told my broadcasting students when they are first writing their feature scripts to just "vomit out the words" and then clean them up later (I do teach at a middle school so gross and graphic analogies work well with my clientele).

Keeping a Journal

While working on my dissertation I kept a journal, not as a source to keep all of my information and citations since much of that was electronic in nature and on my computer, but rather to keep myself on pace and remind myself of things I needed to accomplish.  I love keeping journals - Moleskin and Field Notes are my favorites - so early on in the process I bought a black Moleskin classic notebook and when I filled that up my wife bought me a red Moleskin classic notebook as a Christmas gift last year.  Every time that I sat down to work on my doctorate, regardless of how much time I spent, I wrote down what I was working on that day.  A noticed a big jump in productivity when I started writing down a goal for each day in my journal. It didn't have to be a huge goal - it could be as simple as taking notes on a journal article or two - but writing a goal down in my journal really helped me focus.

I also used my journal as a place to celebrate successes and milestones.  I would draw a little doodle here and there to help mark accomplishments and I also added stickers to my notebook.  One of my favorite places to work was Caribou Coffee and they give you a little sticker to put on top of your cup instead of drink stoppers.  I would always ask for these little stickers - they have a ton of different sayings, graphics and designs - and then I would place them in my notebook.  It was just a fun way for me to add some color and personality to this journal that I carried around with me everywhere. 

Now that my dissertation is finished I'm glad that I have these journals to go back and look at as a reminder of the work I accomplished on my study, when it happened and where I was when I worked on it. There are the "behind the scenes" story of my doctoral journey. Years from now I will probably look at these notebooks more often than rereading my dissertation.

Eating the Elephant

One of the toughest challenges for me mentally was overcoming the concept that I had this enormous project to work on each day.  The weight of having this 200 page document as a final goal was suffocating.  At some point I saw a tweet or a Facebook post that said, "When eating an elephant, just take one bite at a time." For some reason that really resonated with me that day and it became sort of my mantra during the rest of the process.  All I could focus on was what I was doing to do THAT DAY to get closer to my goal. The speed at which I was moving forward wasn't as important as the fact that I needed to keep moving each day.  Once I started to focus on the little things I found that eventually the big things would take care of themselves.

Parking Your Writing on a Hill

At one point of frustration in the dissertation writing process I read several blog posts and articles on tips for writing your dissertation (very similar to this one!).  One of the articles mentioned always "parking your writing on a hill".  Once I started devoting time each day to working on my dissertation I found myself sitting down each day for an hour or so and then spending a considerable amount of time wondering what I should do next.  It was difficult to jump in right away and flip on the "dissertation switch".  Parking your writing on the hill refers to always ending your work at a point so that the next step is there and ready for you when you return.  It is a little like sitting down to eat a meal and stopping right before you are completely full.  When I parked my writing on a hill it was always clear where I should pick up the next time I sat down to work. I tried to always write what my next step would be in my journal so when I sat down next time it was already waiting for me.

Stealing Time

I wanted to try and work on my dissertation in a way that would not take away time from my family as well as allow me to continue to work and do a good job on my primary job as a middle school teacher.  I think almost everyone working on their dissertation has this issue in some capacity. It has been my observation that most people working on their doctorate are not the type to have a lot of "extra" time on their hands.  For a while I tried working late at night after the girls went to bed.  This worked some nights and others I basically fell asleep while trying to work on research.  For a couple of weeks I tried getting up at around 4 AM and working for several hours until heading off to my job as a middle school teacher.  This might work for some but I soon realized that was not going to work for me. 

One time of day that worked for me was devoting at least an hour in the afternoon once the school day was done before heading home to the family.  Sometimes meetings and other events cut into this time but I tried to make it work as often as humanly possible.  Down the stretch my favorite time to work was early in the mornings on Saturday and Sunday.  I found that if I got up and arrived at the Caribou Coffee shop at 5 AM when they opened, I would work until 8 AM or 9 AM and get some quality hours of work in before heading home to the family and the activities we had going on that day.  I felt good about starting my day by getting some work accomplished and instead of the hour or two a day that I was able to sneak during the week, I could get 3 or 4 hours of uninterrupted work in at a time.

Know Your Doctoral Program

The process of writing your dissertation and the process to gaining approval is complex at any institution.  In the early stages I was confused and did not really understand the steps that were in front of me and as a result probably wasn't as efficient with my time.  As I advanced in the program I spent more time getting familiar with the steps of the program, the time frames for review processes, what to expect at certain phases, etc. I asked my committee chair a lot of questions and made it a priority to understand what steps and tasks would be required of me in the future as my dissertation advanced.  I think taking time to understand the doctoral process for your program is important and in the end saves you time and effort.

Importance of Having a Good Committee Chair

This is a topic I have discussed with several friends who have earned their doctorate or are working on their doctorate.  In my opinion, having a supportive committee chair is a very important part of a successful doctoral journey. I was very fortunate to have a very supportive and helpful committee chair.  In my program I was assigned my chair, in other program students may have more voice in the process but I can only speak from my own experience.  At the start of my writing my dissertation I had trouble making progress.  My chair never gave up on me but also didn't nag me about getting work done.  She was supportive and helpful and when I did finally dig in to work on my research she was responsive and helpful at each turn. We often had Google Hangout visits about my progress and it also allowed me to ask questions.  Some of my friends have had their committee chair leave the institution in the middle of their work or have had issues with their chair not responding to questions.  I had neither of these issues and I always felt as though my chair was their to support and help me in this process.  It can be very scary for someone who has never gone through this process and it is critical to have a chair you can trust and learn from as you complete your research.

Maximize the Technology Available

I have marveled at the ways in which I has able to utilize technology during the dissertation process from accessing research articles, finding information, analyzing/coding data and managing citations. I honestly cannot imagine the difference in the amount of work necessary to do these tasks prior to the age of the Internet. I have told people that I think people who earned their degree prior to the Internet should have a special star next to their degree to denote they did it "the hard way".  Learning to master the tools now available is mandatory for the sanity of any researcher.

Perhaps the most important tool I learned to incorporate during my research was Zotero.  Zotero is a free, open source reference management system maintained by the Center for History and New Media of George Mason University. In can't image how many hours Zotero saved me in terms of saving, organizing and citing resources.  I won't go into a full tutorial here but if you are doing any research this is a tool that you MUST check out.

I also did a lot of work with my data in Google Sheets and Google Docs.  I transcribed the interviews I conducted for my research into Google Docs. While coding the transcripts I had 11 themes that I was tracking.  I used different colors to represent different themes in the interviews and this made it easier to visually sort out and organize the themes among different participants.  I also created unique hashtags for each participant and specific mentions so that I could do a quick search for that particular hashtag later.  Typically it was a # and a two letter code so when I did a search it showed me quickly where it was in the transcript and not confuse it with any of the text of the interview. Having some of my data on Google Drive also provided me a cloud backup that was protected by passwords.

Love Your Research Topic

Selecting your research topic is obviously a critical part of your doctoral process.  You will be working with this topic for hours and hours, month after month so you should select a topic which can hold your personal interest.  My dissertation topic, how social studies teachers collaborate using Twitter, is a topic that I both felt comfortable with and enjoyed learning about during research. I also had to approach my research topic by stepping back and looking at the issue from different perspectives.  I cannot image working as many hours as I did on a topic that did not hold my interest. Select a topic you believe you will be be comfortable thinking about while you are driving in the car, waiting in line at the grocery store and while falling asleep at night.

One thing I enjoyed about my research topic is that it is relatively new. During the two and half years that I wrote my dissertation there was a lot of research published on teachers using Twitter, social media in education and the power of educators working collaboratively online.  I think having a topic with some current day relevance is a plus and helps maintain fresh perspectives.

Find a Happy Place to Write/Work

I tried working in a variety of places - home, school, the library, coffee shops, etc.  At different points in the process I worked at all of these and the each have advantages and disadvantages. I typically found that if I was at home there were just too many things to keep me off track.  I would want to go start a load of laundry, go check on one of the girls, etc. My classroom at school had plenty of space, a quality WiFi connection but just like at home - there was also something that I could be working on instead of my dissertation.  

I found that going to the public library - and we have some AWESOME libraries in my community - or a coffee shop worked well for me.  I know what you are thinking - isn't it really expensive to get a $5 mocha every time you want to work on your dissertation? I often went to the Caribou Coffee here in Liberty which is connected to a connivence store.  They have a great place to work, consistent available wifi and some great wooden tables where I could spread out some of my materials. Sometimes I would get a mocha but a lot of times I would just get a 75 cent soda from the convenience store and get to work.  I was in a lot and the staff didn't have a problem with me not getting a mocha every time I was in - I was in enough and my wife loves coffee so I would often bring one home to her after working.  I even mentioned the Caribou Coffee in Liberty in the acknowledgements of my dissertation.

Value of a Supportive Family

My final tip is perhaps the biggest.  When I say family I mean everyone around you who supports you - your family, your work family, etc. I cannot express how helpful and supportive my wife was during this process. When I started my doctoral coursework our daughters were one and six years old.  Working on your doctoral for most of us is an "extra" thing that we do in addition to our regular job and our responsibilities to our family. She always let me go work on my dissertation in the evenings and on weekends while taking on more work at home. She listened to me talk about super exciting topics on car trips like the theory of communities of practice and how I should code my qualitative data from the transcripts.  I honestly feel as though this is something that we accomplished together.  My daughters were also great.  I had to miss some time on the weekends that I would have rather spend hanging out instead of writing but they also celebrated with me every time we reached a milestone.  We all went out as a family after the final section was sent in for approval and instead of eating a meal we just had a bunch of desserts at a restaurant.  One of the best feelings once it was over was my 7 year old asking if she could now call me "Dr. Dad".

I hope that some of what I learned during my dissertation process will help someone else.  It was a long and difficult process for me but I feel as if I learned a lot about myself in the process and it does feel great to finally reach the finish line.  Good luck and remember to eat your elephant one bite a time.

Here is a link to my finished dissertation : Social Studies Teachers' Use of Twitter and #edchats to Collaborate