Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/859531
two brain surgeries, and one of my great- est concerns was healing before school started. I didn't want to miss it at all. I even considered putting off the second surgery for a year so it wouldn't affect my students' education. A great group of peo- ple knocked sense into me, and I had the second surgery three weeks before returning to work in August. R a d i a t i o n a n d c h e m o w e r e o n t h e docket for the fall, and throughout it all I felt terrible and physically exhausted. I woke up each morning, went to work and did the best job I could. My col- leagues and students inspired me to press on. at year I did not miss a single day because of how I felt, save one day when I suffered some side effects from a spinal tap. rough it all I committed myself to my students and school. As I recovered in 2015, I realized that my journey and what I had learned were not just for me. There were others on the journey — my parents, my friends, my f a i t h f a m i ly, my colleagues and my stu- dents. I wrote about this in w hat eventu- al ly b e cam e a b o o k, Anchored in the Storm, a s a way n o t j u st to share my story, but to encourage and inspire those who go through any type of suffering in life. It's been an incredible blessing for me to see and hear how one journey and experience can help others. My journey continues to this day. O n e of th e lin e s from th e b o o k i s: " Th ere are p e ople w ho have lit eral ly poured so much into oth ers, th ere i s nothing left for the history books; they have given themselves away." Teachers do this on a daily basis, and I am proud to serve among so many wonderful educa- tors. I am now so proud to be among the many cancer warriors out there. Adam Holland teaches social studies at West R an ch High S chool in St even son R anch . A member of the Hart D i strict Teachers A ssociation , he is a National Board Certified Teacher and author of Anchored in the Storm (2016). In 2016, former students of Holland cre- ated a short video about his story and book: bit.ly/2sSfiyb. "I had always been told we were a family at West Ranch High School. Now I experienced it." 18 cta.org Perspectives Y O U R V O I C E TOPICS CREATIVE & CRITICAL THINKING DESIGN THINKING CURRICULUM & INSTRUCTION INTERDISCIPLINARY TEACHING EQUITY & SOCIAL JUSTICE GIFTED LEARNERS MATHEMATICS NEUROSCIENCE LEADERSHIP SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING WELLNESS EDTECH COMPUTER SCIENCE MAKING LEARNING VISIBLE INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING SPEAKERS INCLUDE WARREN BERGER JO BOALER PETE BOWERS PETER C. BROWN NADINE BURKE-HARRIS WILLIAM DAMON K. ANDERS ERICSSON NED HALLOWELL SANDRA KAPLAN HEIDI KASEVICH JULIE LYTHCOTT-HAIMS SIMONE MAREAN LISA MILLER BERNIE ROTH ROBERT SAPOLSKY CATHERINE STEINER-ADAIR P R O F E S S I O N A L D E V E L O P M E N T G R A N T S A V A I L A B L E Registration now open! www.nuevailc.org 6565 Skyline Blvd, Hillsborough, CA 131 E 28th Ave, San Mateo, CA PAID AD