Christopher was awarded Teacher of the Year at the Juvenile Hall where he works!

It was recognition given him by his peers, his fellow-teachers, which is the best and truest kind, especially as he has such deep respect for his colleagues, many of whom have been teaching for longer than him. They see on a day-to-day basis the work and love he puts into the kids he teaches, the extra lengths he is happy to go for any of them who shows an interest.

He routinely buys books, magazines, learning supplies, etc for the kids out of his own pocket, and stands up and fights for their rights to a decent education all the time. He never expected to be noticed in a positive way for doing all this.

So the award comes all the sweeter for being a surprise. And of course I am teasing him plenty about it, wondering where the sash and tiara are, and what are the perks that come with this title for moi? Mrs Don't Mess With Me I'm Married To The Teacher of the Year at Juvie, and He's Got Sway?

I am seriously extremely proud of him. Talk about invisible work! Teachers do tremendous work every day for little recognition, and special ed teachers least of all. And teachers like Christopher who works with kids who haven't made it in the outside world and are being groomed to be the next generation of adult prisoners--when he can make a difference there, it's a life.