So, how are you? 
I mean, really, how are you? 

I used to ask this question of my gifted kids. 
We came to an understanding that “fine” was not an acceptable response. 
That when I asked how they were doing, I was really interested. 
That I wasn’t interested in just exchanging pleasantries, I really wanted to know. 

So, how are you? 

This fall marks the start of my 25th year as an educator, and as we get into the thick of it, here are ten things that are going on Inside of Brian’s Brain. 

After a week of voting in which Ronald Reagan led for most of, in the last 48 hours of voting, Mr. Rogers was able to come from behind and overcome the former president to become the Quote Madness 2021 Champion! Only a handful of votes separated first and second place. Meanwhile Maya Angelou and Albert Einstein were not far behind.

Three months ago, we started this journey. Along the way we have explored 11 Universal Themes and their accompanying Generalizations with the use of 55 brand new quotation slides. Now, after literally thousands of votes and a multitude of deeply engaging conversations, we are down to THE FINAL FOUR! Let's dive in to who made to the final vote of the season and what's so special about each of these slides. 

We are down to the ELITE EIGHT on Curious Quotes and Universal Themes! Last week there was a close competition between a pair of former Presidents and "a walk in the park" for Mr. Rogers and Albert Einstein. We have one more week of voting in these four competitions. Remember your votes decide who moves on to the FINAL FOUR next week.  

Welcome to the SWEET SIXTEEN of Quote Madness 2021! 
We started with 11 Universal Themes and 55 Curious Quotes. 
The results are in, and here's who is moving forward. 
Voting is open between now and Sunday, April 4, 2021 at 11:59 PM ET. 

After 11 weeks, 55 quotes, and a generous amount of generalizations, it all comes down to this. 
LET THE MADNESS BEGIN! 
VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITES HERE!

Our journey through Curious Quotes started 11 weeks ago with CHANGE, and now we end with the elusive 11th Universal Theme, ADAPT! At first I felt the same way about ADAPT as I did about going into RELATIONSHIPS. Surely, there are plenty of quotes on the subject. Again, I was wrong.

​Along the way, I started wondering, "How is ADAPT significantly different than CHANGE?" 

We've reached our tenth Universal Theme, and this time it's about RELATIONSHIPS! Prior to searching for quotes on the subject, I assumed that there would be a wealth of sage words to choose from. I was wrong, and Henry Winkler had something to say about making assumptions. From there I went in search of terms "related" to relationships. I came up with CONNECTIONS. 

Let's start by considering how CONNECTIONS and RELATIONSHIPS are similar and different. 

We are nearing the end of our exploration of Universal Themes by designing new slides for Curious Quotes that I have collected along the way. The previous theme of Structure was by far the hardest one yet. Systems was slightly easier.

When you hear the word SYSTEM, what do you think of? 

Do you have a SYSTEM for doing something? Where do you see SYSTEMS naturally occurring? 

As we continue in our investigation of Curious Quotes & Universal Themes, we come to STRUCTURE. When I first envisioned creating this series, I thought it would be a relatively easy task. To determine if it would be possible, I did a quick glance for quotes on a few of the Universal Themes and easily found numerous options. It turns out that I did not take into consideration quotes about STRUCTURE. This was a lot harder than I had anticipated. 

Before digging into the set of quotations, think about what structure means to you. Do you have a conception or definition in mind? GOOD! Now, continue to the GENERALIZATIONS.