On Sundays in Los Angeles, if I'm not at an awesome afterschool conference somewhere else in the country, I pick up my golden turmeric latte from my local corporate coffee chain establishment and sit down with two sections of The New York Times: Review and Business.

"Students, today I will be utilizing approaches from the crypt of dry curricula I am mandated to implement in the classroom and you are going to write about something you don't feel connected to, can't see any point in, and which will live in 'the cloud' forever after I grade it to assess skills you've never actually been taught." —Said out loud by no teacher ever

WOW! What an amazing four days at the NAA 2018 Annual Convention in Atlanta! Here are some of the highlights.

When I share about my experience growing up in New York (or New "Yawk" as I've been known to say) and attending public school, I'm always struck by how rich and layered my education was and how much afterschool hours shaped my life—profoundly.

This is a photo of me, today, on my 47th birthday, holding my very first journal—written when I was 10 years old. My fifth grade teacher asked us to buy a notebook that inspired us and, every few days, she gave us a topic to write about.

A life is made of memories. When I was 20 years old, I traveled the world for two months with my best friend Kristin. It was a safer time then. Airport security was a breeze. Shoes stayed on. Everyone smiled. I had just acted in my first television show. My television was the only screen I owned.