Edublog Awards 2008

In his blog post yesterday, David Warlick thanked his readers and the Edublog Awards for conferring a Lifetime Achievement Award upon him. What a fitting tribute to a man whose work has impacted so many people--by challenging our thinking and by so incisively analyzing the changing world and what it might mean to our profession and our kids.

I've followed David Warlick since I was lucky enough to see his presentation at the ALA Annual Convention in New Orleans in 2006. His presentation inspired me to read Friedman's The World is Flat, and later, Daniel Pink's A Whole New Mind, two works that have helped me to guide my young college-aged daughter, and to change my practice as a librarian. That one hour that I spent in Warlick's workshop truly changed my brain--changed the way I look at librarianship for the 21st century, as well as education in general! Yesterday, I was excited to get Warlick's latest book in the mail: Redefining Literacy 2.0. I can't wait to read it-- I know it will reinvigorate my thinking.

In his post, Warlick worries that the Lifetime Achievement Award might indicate that he is a doddering old man at the end of his career. I can't imagine that this is even close to truth. It's just a much-deserved thank you to a man that provides leadership and challenges so many others to think about things a bit differently, inspiring those of us "in the trenches" to professional practice that will (hopefully) serve our students well in this changing world!
Thanks David! And Congratulations!!