52 Cups of Coffee: 417 Edition - Cup 30/52 - Judy Brunner

Here's the weekly boilerplate intro if you've already read anything from past cups of coffee skip ahead to the cup of coffee below the name!

After hearing about the book 52 Cups of Coffee on a Podcast, I thought it sounded like a great opportunity to connect to people in my community. Initially, my plan was to just have coffee once a week with someone I know. I was thinking of friends, family members, or colleagues with whom I could spend some quality time. But the opportunity to engage with my community is always in the back of my mind. So I thought it might be interesting to ask the same set of questions to a diverse cast of influential and interesting people in the 417 area and share them here on my LinkedIn page. At the end of the year, who knows what we'll have... at the very least it's 52 interesting conversations. It's a loose plan. I don't have any real intentions and I think that's the beauty of it. Curiosity. Community. And a chance to learn a little bit from each person. A big thanks to the folks at Travellers House Coffee & Tea for being willing to provide a place to chat and several cups of coffee throughout the year!

**I don't like taking notes while having coffee and conversation so I've trusted Otter to do the transcribing. Any editing issues are my own. I'm not a professional. :) I've included a list of books we discuss throughout the conversation at the bottom.

Judy Brunner - 30/52

This one was particularly fun for me because Judy is more than just a Springfield Public Schools educator, a member of the board of education, and huge proponent of our public schools... she's MY high school principal. I had such an amazing high school experience at Parkview and I still see many great educators from my high school days out in our community. When I started running into Judy again, I had to shake calling her "Mrs. Brunner" for the first few months. I'm sure we all put our high school principals in a special category in our brains and it's pretty hard to reprogram that one! When I saw she was running for the school board I knew she was the best option for the job because I was one of many lucky students to get to walk the halls while Judy was running the show Parkview. I knew she was passionate about the students and about her work. She's one of the best. I was really looking forward to sitting down with her to have this discussion. It was our first extended one on one conversation since I was in high school. Lots had changed for us both, but she was still the Mrs. B that I remembered so fondly. I learned a lot about her that I didn't know, had a lot of good laughs, and enjoyed hearing her tell her story.

We sat down at Aviary and had a great breakfast together. You can read the discussion below!

Rhett Roberson 

What is the CliffsNotes version of the story of Judy Brunner? 

Judy Brunner 

I was born and raised in Springfield to two hard working parents. One outside of the home, one in the home. Both of my parents were graduates from Carthage high schools. My dad fought in World War Two and was a very proud veteran. My whole life was spent every five years going to his reunions. My mother was a good partner for him. I have two brothers, both older. So, I'm the youngest. I went to Springfield Public Schools starting with Oak Grove, then Eugene Field, Pershing, and graduated from Glendale, and then graduated from Missouri State in three years. That's not because I'm smart. That's because my parents didn't expect me to work. I lived at home and my dad said, "School is your job." At that time, you could pay for 12 hours and take up to 21. So, I took 20 and 21 hours every semester because, other than my sorority, I just didn't have much else to do. I just got in and went quickly. My parents weren't expecting me to save money, but it made sense to me. This is funny, my dad told me, and neither one of my parents ever went to college, he said, "You can go to school anywhere you want. I'll pay for everything. On two conditions: you have to take typing and you have to take shorthand, because when you graduate, you're going to be a secretary and I want you prepared." So, I took typing, and I took shorthand, and they paid for my college. Guess what my first job was coming out? Secretary in the prosecuting attorney's office. You know why I got it? Because I told Charles Lecompte, at the time, I knew how to take shorthand. I never used it, but he liked the idea. Can you believe it? People would be insulted by that now, but I thought nothing of it. We didn't have that many options in my day. 

Rhett Roberson 

What did you major in at Missouri State? 

Judy Brunner 

Sociology and political science. Then I went back and got a second undergraduate degree after my boys were born. I got a BS in education in learning disabilities. 

Rhett Roberson 

Okay, I was trying to make the through line because the next part of the CliffsNotes would lead you into a career in education, because you eventually became a principal, and you were my principal in high school! Luckily, we didn't meet each other in your office too many times. 

Judy Brunner 

Hey, I've sat on both sides of the principal's desk. (Laughs)I get it. I had two boys that went through Parkview. 

Rhett Roberson 

(Laughs) I don't really know the background of that transition after your second degree in education. Did you go into teaching for a while and then make your way through administration? 

Judy Brunner 

Yeah, I taught. I taught at Parkview. At that time, I stayed at home. I was secretary up until our first baby was born, and then I stayed at home for a while with the boys. I was fortunate in that regard. Jimmy Carter was president, my husband is an electrician, and construction slowed down to the point that I needed to go to work. So I thought, "I'll substitute teach, anybody can do that, right?" At that time to serve in Springfield, you had to take a class in The Exceptional Child (https://a.co/d/fnFqe5w). I did that and fell in love. It was this whole idea of individual education plans that was just coming in. Nobody really thought much about that before. I just found it fascinating. I had the most wonderful teacher and I thought, "Gosh, isn't this great?"

I went back to school and then did my student teaching. I realized I didn't know how to teach reading and that was what every special ed kid needed. So, then I went back and got a master's in reading. I taught at St. Agnes for a couple years, and then Springfield hired me. Mr. Kohr was the assistant principal at Parkview, and he pulled me into the office the first year I was there, and he said, "You need to think about school administration." I'd never thought about that, ever, but I pursued that, and I just had, really, I've had a lot of luck. I've been in the right place at the right time more than once.

I taught at Parkview for five years and fell in love with high school and in love with the Parkview community. We lived there, over by St. John's Hospital. And then I got appointed to the assistant principal at Pershing and was there for a year and a half. Then the principal at Wilder became ill mid-year and the superintendent moved me to Wilder, which was a crazy experience. I loved it, but it was interesting. And then, and this really is an interesting part of what has made me who I am, Reed Junior High, at the time, really going through some transition. The principal and the teachers were angry at each other, and it had gone on for a while. So, the superintendent, Conley Weiss, made the decision to move out the principal and 10 Teachers one day, and he rolled in there and said, "You all are leaving, we're putting you somewhere else. We won't put more than two of you in any one school, because together it's not a good mix." 

Rhett Roberson 

Wow! 

Judy Brunner 

And then he came to me and said, "Now go over there and put it together." And I said, "Can I think about this?" (Laughs) He said, "You have 24 hours." I was not unfamiliar with the Reed community. My husband went to Reed, my father-in-law went to Reed, and granny still lived in the neighborhood. So, 24 hours later, I walked in the superintendent's office I said, "This is either the smartest decision I've ever made or the dumbest, but I'll never look back. Send me." and I was there for seven years. Reed was probably the school that changed my life the most. It's just a community that really needs the stability of a school to kind of help hold it together and I met some great people there. 

Rhett Roberson 

I noticed even that interesting dynamic moving to Hillcrest sorry because Reed and Pleasant View are the feeders into Hillcrest. I went to Pleasant View for all of middle school, then Hillcrest my freshman year, and then I came over to Parkview. I really loved Pleasant View. Still do, it's just such a nice little... 

Judy Brunner 

It's still rural. Very much. 

Rhett Roberson 

Yeah! I was a Bluejay. It's two very different crowds that then meet up at Hillcrest. It was interesting! 

Judy Brunner 

When I was at Reed we figured out that not every middle school had foreign language. We did. We had teacher Linda Fredrick who could teach French. So, we started offering French. We were always in competition with Pleasant View. We knew at that time Pleasant View didn't have a foreign language teacher. We got some of our kids to take foreign language. So they went into Hillcrest, and they became the valedictorians because they had that edge. 

Rhett Roberson 

Administrative strategy, it's good work. 

Judy Brunner 

(Laughs) Oh, I don't know. But we just kept hearing about Pleasant View, Pleasant View... We're Reed! So, we figured out how to make our kids the top five and it worked for a while. It did. Until Pleasant View caught on. 

Rhett Roberson 

So, what came after Parkview? What was the transition from that to current? 

Judy Brunner 

I got very interested when I was at Reed, quite frankly, but it was also happening nationally, I got very interested in school safety and how to keep students safe. Columbine happened when I was at Reed. Our youngest son Matthew was a senior at Parkview that year and when I watched those kids climbing out windows at Columbine, all I could see was Parkview and Matthew. I walked into the building the next day, and I looked around at kids and thought, "Could you do that? Are you capable?" We had a loaded gun at Reed that we dealt with one day. I got called out of a principals meeting to get over there. I kind of knew that protocols, but the Director of School Public Safety and I put our heads together and I became aware of a school safety director and a principal that had developed a consulting business. So, we did that, and I did that on my leave time.

We still have the business, Edu-Safe, and we've branched out to do a lot of different things now, but I got interested in school safety. That's really why I retired from Parkview when I did. I wasn't ready. First of all, one of my goals was to leave when I still wanted to stay wherever I was. I want to leave when I still want to stay because I don't want people going, "God is she ever going?" I've seen people stay too long and I didn't want to do that. I've loved every place I've been. So, the consulting business, Columbine was happening Paducah, Kentucky, Jonesboro, Arkansas. It was really in the national news. Columbine took school violence to the suburbs. 

Rhett Roberson 

I still remember standing in the living room with my dad, watching the news that day.

Judy Brunner 

Yeah, it was one of those watershed moments. So, we still have that business and I wanted to continue that. I got 20 days of vacation a year with the school district, and I was using every one of those 20 days consulting and being paid to do that. So, I thought, "I'm at the age where I can do it." That business has only had two times when we hit a rocky road, the recession and then the pandemic, but we've diversified now we have another company called Instructional Solutions Group. Instructional Solutions Group is primarily me and I talk about academic engagement, literacy, and differentiated instruction. We still have that business. I'll head to St. Louis and two or three weeks to make a presentation up there on restorative practices. To explain restorative practices, let's say that... we'll just take your daughter. So, say she's in elementary school, and she's out on the playground, somebody gets hurt, and she sees that. You've got to help kids restore their sense of safety and wellbeing. These restorative practices train teachers and counselors on how to help kids work through that. 

Rhett Roberson 

After all of that, what a lapse in judgment made you decide to join the school board? 

Judy Brunner 

I watched what was happening. 

Rhett Roberson

I say that in jest, of course! 

Judy Brunner

I know, I know what you mean. I do consider it a privilege. I will always consider it a privilege to serve. No matter where I was principal, I always introduce myself as who I am followed by "and it's my privilege to be the principal at Parkview." or wherever I was. I love Springfield Public Schools. We have challenges that some of our neighboring schools don't have, but I think, to a large degree, those challenges would make me choose Springfield. We have more to offer. I saw what was happening. Denise Fredrick (Denise Fredrick, PhD) called me several times. She called, gave me space, called again, gave me space. One morning I woke up and I thought, I‘ve got to try. I literally sat up in bed and thought "If I don't try, I'll be unhappy with myself." So, I did. And once I decide, I give it what I've got.

Rhett Roberson 

Susan's story was relatively similar but adds you to the mix of visiting and calling. 

Judy Brunner 

Susan and I went to high school together, we were in different classes, and we didn't really have the same social groups, by any means. We didn't have athletics, then. So, if you played sports, if you were athletic like she was, you had to play intramurals and stuff like that. But yeah, it took three meetings with Susan. (Laughs) 

Rhett Roberson 

Yeah. The dynamic of the board has changed. The work has changed. But I'm really glad to see the two of you there. To Susan's point as well, the administrative team at Parkview, when I was there, was so fantastic. There are parts of that team, of course, that I would never have seen as a student, but hearing Susan talk about the how close the team was at that time. 

Judy Brunner 

It was. We called it Camelot. We just had so much fun, and we knew what we were there to do. I'll tell you my favorite Parkview story. This kid shows up, you'd have been a student then, doesn't matter who he was. I'd had him at Reed, and he shows up to the dance which is over at 11:30, he shows up at 11:20 and he's loaded. And I'm thinking, "Why did you come to the school? What are you doing here? Now I have to deal with you." I was so tired. I always got to school by five in the morning, Trish Chrisman and me. He won't admit what he's done. He doesn't smell of alcohol, he doesn't smell of weed, but he is clearly impaired. So, I got him in the office. I've got Justin Herrell (assistant principal) sitting over here, Ed Goodwin (school resource officer) sitting here, and this kid sitting right in front of my desk...

Rhett Roberson 

And if you don't know, Mr. Harrell, I feel like I should find a picture on the internet to explain the situation a little bit better to people that are going to read this. 

Judy Brunner 

(Laughs) I am so tired, and he just keeps denying and denying. I said, "Look, we know you've done something. I don't know what you're on, but we're not going to let you drive. We're going to call your parents. Can you just tell me what it is?" I've known this kid since he was in seventh grade. He said, "Oh Mrs. Brunner, I'm just under a lot of stress." At that point I slammed my hand on the desk, and I said, "Stress!? You have no idea what stress is. I'm under more stress than you could possibly imagine, and I don't look like you!" And he goes, "Oh Mrs. B, I got to tell you, you don't look that great." (Both laughing) I started laughing. I looked at Justin and said, "If you laugh, you're fired." I looked at Ed and I said, "If you laugh, you're fired. Get his mom on the phone." You don't look that great...(laughs) I'm sure he was right. I will never forget that moment. 

Rhett Roberson 

That's fantastic. At some points in the life of a disciplinarian there's nothing you could do but laugh. 

Judy Brunner 

(Laughs) We never did figure out what he'd done. Nor did I suspend him. We just couldn't. I mean, I just wanted him to get home safe. To come to school with 10 minutes in the dance left, and you know you're going to get caught at the door. 

Rhett Roberson 

Yeah, that's funny. 

Judy Brunner 

It was my privilege, every job I've had has been a privilege. I've learned from every one. That's true. 

Rhett Roberson 

I think I can speak at least for my close knit group from the Class of 2005 and say that it is a privilege for us as well, to get to be there at the same time. 

Judy Brunner 

It was fun. 

Rhett Roberson 

When I started to see you more frequently again because of the Foundation for Springfield Public Schools board meetings and events, I was happy to see you! The dynamic is quite a bit different now. We get to work together in some sense!

What brings you joy?

Judy Brunner 

Oh, my family! No question. They mean everything to me. My husband and I will soon be married 50 years in September. He's very patient. He doesn't talk a lot, but when he speaks, you do kind of sit up and take notice. A lot of times he says something funny. Our two boys, our grandchildren. I love what I do professionally, and I don't want to not be busy. I get more things done when I'm busy. But nothing's more important to me than my family. I still miss my parents every day. One of my brothers passed away of COVID and then I have a brother that just turned 80 years old down in Arkansas, and he still works. That's our family, we just work. 

Rhett Roberson 

Does that come from mom? Dad? 

Judy Brunner 

Both. I prefaced all of this with two very hard working parents, one in the home and one outside. We didn't know anything else but. 

Rhett Roberson 

With all that going on, work, family, and certainly the school board, when you need to recharge, what do you do to recharge? 

Judy Brunner 

I read serial killer books. (Both laugh) Now I don't like to read the true ones. I don't want to read about Ted Bundy or Jeffrey Dahmer, because that's just too weird. But I love James Patterson, I love John Sanford, and I had coffee this week with Nancy Allen, who is co-authoring now with James Patterson. She was a Parkview parent. I'd never met her, but she remembered me for Parkview. I love to read, and reading wasn't easy for me growing up. Which is one reason that I liked to teach remedial reading because I wanted to help kids break that code. 

Rhett Roberson 

Did any of that help you at that time? Or had you already established your techniques? 

Judy Brunner 

Oh, no. I learned a lot. I've either written myself or coauthored nine different books on literacy. Some of it was coauthored with Matt Hudson. We wrote a series of study skills books for 5th grade through 7th grade, 8th through 10th, and then 11th through university on how to how to study effectively. It's some workbooks, teacher guides, that sort of thing. Yes, absolutely, I learned as I was learning how to help kids read. I wrote an article about how to study smarter and I used it in my class. I still teach at Missouri State. This summer, I taught reading and writing in the content area, and I shared that article with them. If I gave you the article it would make you a better reader! 

Rhett Roberson 

How would your colleagues describe you? 

Judy Brunner 

I would hope the first thing they would say would be student centered. I tried to never take kids out of the equation, even when it was harder for staff. I think most people would recognize my laugh. That's a trademark, my very loud laugh. I get that from my mother. I hope they would say dedicated. I would hope now, on the school board, people would see me as reflective. I had a reporter say to me, she was talking off the record, she said, "I'm speaking to you as a voter. I really liked the way you think before you speak." Now, I don't know if that's always the case. Susan Provance does a very interesting impersonation of me. 

Rhett Roberson 

I will ask her that next time. (Laughs) 

Judy Brunner 

I would hope they would say now that I'm reflective. I don't know. You were my student, how would you describe me? 

Rhett Roberson 

I was thinking of that while you were speaking. It is interesting, I do remember you as a joyful person, the laugh, certainly. But I also do remember having a healthy amount of... well, fear is not the right word. (Laughs) I didn't want to go to your office for doing something I ought not have been doing. 

Judy Brunner 

That's okay! 

Rhett Roberson 

Not because I was afraid. You were fair. But I think you could use the appropriate part of your personality when it was time. If you need to slam the hand the desk, there's a time for that. 

Judy Brunner 

I would hope people would recognize me as someone that listens. 

Rhett Roberson 

Yeah, I think so! And I mean, you know, no bragging or anything, but I was Parkview Hall of Fame for citizenship. I worked hard to keep the administration happy. 

Judy Brunner 

Just sayin'! I once gave Justin Harrell some advice and told him he'd never have to answer for what he doesn't say. 

Rhett Roberson 

That's something we can all put to work. Now, Mr. Harrell, I was just mostly afraid of. (Laughs) 

Judy Brunner 

On the topic of listening, I did avert a student walkout at Parkview once. The first year I was there they instituted IDs and kids were supposed to wear them. I was standing out at the crosswalk on Campbell at dismissal, this kid walked by, and he goes "What are you going to do when everybody walks out tomorrow?" "What you're talking about?" So, he told me there were three guys organizing it and the next morning I just called them in to talk to them and explain the position. I said, "What can I do to keep this from happening today?" The one kid that was really the brains behind it said, “It won't happen. We just wanted you to listen.” And we didn't have the walkout. 

Rhett Roberson 

Yeah, important to know that people care, even just enough to hear you out. 

Judy Brunner 

People want you to listen. Like when we were closing Pershing and Robberson, that was gut wrenching. I said, "People are going to mourn the loss of these schools." 

Rhett Roberson 

It's part of the community. They want to be heard. Can you describe the work that you do now? 

Judy Brunner 

Important, fun, rewarding, interesting, frustrating. I put frustrating down to the bottom of the list, but it can be frustrating sometimes. I wear different hats. I teach at the university, I'm on the school board, I have the consulting business. The school board position has given me new opportunities. Yesterday, I was at a Chamber of Commerce event, I would never have done that before. I like what I do. I'm very lucky. I am very lucky. 

Rhett Roberson

We kind of talked about it a little bit earlier. How did you get into your line of work? 

Judy Brunner 

People encouraged me. I'm easily influenced I guess, in that regard. If people see something in me, I think, "Okay, I can do that." And honestly, I looked at some of the people in school administration and thought "If you could do it, I know I can do it!" (Laughs) Not at Parkview necessarily. I loved the administrative team at Parkview. 

Rhett Roberson 

What do you think it was that first year of teaching that made you want to go into administration? Was it the principal at the time? 

Judy Brunner 

I had been teaching at St. Agnes Elementary and the only reason I came in to Springfield was more money. I doubled my pay to come from private to public. I never thought I'd teach high school, but then I thought, "I like this." I just find things interesting. And then, when I find them interesting, I think, "Well, what can I do with that?" 

Rhett Roberson 

Who was the best boss or a leader that you've had the opportunity to work with and what made them so good? 

Judy Brunner 

I've worked for every superintendent since 1980. People have different strengths. I loved learning from Mike Kohr, longtime principal and teacher at Parkview. He really instilled the love of Parkview in me. Kim Finch was probably the most organized leader I ever worked for. Now she works at Missouri State University, but she was in charge of transitioning junior highs to middle schools. She had piloted it at Pleasant View and had done a nice job and they wanted to put it into all of the nine middle schools. That was a seismic shift in the way we were doing business to go from junior high to middle school, and I embrace that. I loved sister Carlene over at St. Agnes. She was a quiet leader. I like people that are honest, I like people that are able to listen, and I want leaders to take feedback. No one can always give people the answer they want to hear. In fact, I said that to someone in the union the other day. It would be easier for me to describe qualities I look for rather than to pick any one leader because for the most part, I've respected everybody I've worked for. 

Rhett Roberson 

What did you want to be as a child when you grew up? 

Judy Brunner 

Cashier! I thought that looked fun. A nurse... 

Rhett Roberson 

Any particular place where the cashier job looked fun as a child? 

Judy Brunner 

Well, not one particularly, but I was a cashier at Cloth World years ago in college, I did take a job in college even though I didn't have to. It looked fun punching those buttons. I probably went through school thinking I'd be a nurse. I also thought very seriously about, this is where the sociology degree came from, I wanted to be a social worker and I wanted to work on a native American reservation. I thought that looked interesting. Then I got assigned to do an internship out at the federal prison and I decided I wanted to be a probation parole officer. But to get into that, I would have had to move, and I wanted to get married, so I didn't. 

Rhett Roberson 

What book has had the most profound impact on your life? 

Judy Brunner 

Well, I'll leave out the serial killer stuff. 

Rhett Roberson 

(Laughs) 

Judy Brunner 

I love reading books by Malcolm Gladwell. I loved his book Blink (https://a.co/d/dzU8Zyr). I thought that was interesting. The first one I read his was Outliers (https://a.co/d/cM8ZIjT) and I really thought that was incredibly fascinating. I don't know that he's shaped my worldview of things, but I find his books to be relatively easy to read, but very thought provoking and I like that. I'm reading a book now about all the women in Thomas Jefferson's life (The Women Jefferson Loved - https://a.co/d/17spTpC), and how they impacted him. I just started it because I finished the Lion and the Lamb by James Patterson (https://a.co/d/3RbJCGB) over the weekend, and I started this Jefferson book. I'm still on his mother and who she was and what developed in him for her. I love history. It is my favorite subject, and I particularly love presidential history. 

Rhett Roberson 

I've been listening to a podcast called History That Doesn't Suck, recently.

Judy Brunner 

Have you ever watched Drunk History? 

Rhett Roberson 

Yes. (Laughs) 

Judy Brunner 

(Laughs) Yeah, that's hysterical. 

Rhett Roberson 

What's the most important lesson you've learned so far in life? 

Judy Brunner 

I come back to this something that I learned from my father. He would say, "You make your own breaks." You have to work hard toward it, and you need to be loyal to whoever you're working for. 

Rhett Roberson 

Yeah, I think that starts us down the path to the next question. What advice would you offer young professionals entering the workforce? 

Judy Brunner 

To listen. This generation is not necessarily interested in listening right now. I see it in my student teachers. I had 10 student teachers in the spring. I see it in them. I see it in my university students. It's not just limited to those going in and education. There are things to be learned from stories and I don't know that that gets its due diligence these days. I don't know why that is. It could be that people think they've got all their answers on a cell phone, but it's far more complicated than that. I worry about the impact of technology on our whole world. I think it's done some great things. I couldn't drive from here to Chicago without it, but... 

Rhett Roberson 

Yeah, but the erosion of our attention spans and the general vitriol that we feel inclined to. It's created a free space to say whatever you want to say, with very little retribution. I don't think people are as bad as they are online. I think people use that as a means to cope with the fact that they don't have power or control and other places of their life. They go to work, and they get told what to do all day. And that's the one place they can let some steam off. 

Judy Brunner 

And those parents come into school. 

Rhett Roberson 

A place that can have some power? 

Judy Brunner 

I've met many parents that you're describing, but they can, by God, come into school and tell us how to do it. "I'm going to make this right for my kid." 

Rhett Roberson 

I'll make the commitment to not do that. (Laughs) What are you most proud of? 

Judy Brunner 

Our two boys have turned into people that we really like. They're good people and they keep a sense of humor. I feel like Mike and I were a good partnership with the kids growing up. I hope the boys would describe it that way. But what am I most proud of? I don't know. Yesterday I was at Murphy's swim meet, and I love being up in the stands for her and videoing all of her races. I am proud of my career too. Serving on the board is a privilege and I'm proud of what I've been able to do there. I think I know what my purpose is. It is to listen and try to build bridges. When the board was discussing the cell phone policy recently, when it was my turn to speak, I said "I think we all really want the same thing here. We're in agreement more than we're disagreeing."

Rhett Roberson 

Final question. My favorite question. How do you hope the world is better for having you? 

Judy Brunner 

Well, I wish my two boys would have a lot of children. (Laughs) I hope that I inspire my family to be family-centered. I hope in my professional life, I inspire educators to be student-centered, reflective, and willing to keep learning. I'm still learning and I'm 71 years old. When I left Parkview and Donna Aldrich first went into school administration, she wrote me an email and said, "You know, in this new job I have, I often think 'What would Judy do?'" That pleased me. Yeah. Because I respect Donna a lot. Not just because she said that! 

Rhett Roberson 

Not much better compliment than that! 

Judy Brunner 

Yeah. 

Rhett Roberson 

Is there anything I didn't ask you that I should have? Or anything you do want on record? 

Judy Brunner 

I love reconnecting with former students. I'm so flattered that you even wanted to do this. It's so fun. I think your project sounds so interesting because you're trying to get the stories from people. And I just said, nobody's listening to stories anymore. My fear is that they're not. So, no, your questions were great. I appreciate you asking. And I do want to get breakfast.  

Waitress 

Are you finished here? 

Judy Brunner 

I am, but I'll take the check, please. 

Rhett Roberson 

Don't let her do that! 

Judy Brunner 

Listen, I'm going to take you to the principal's office. (Laughs)

I can't think of a more appropriate ending...

Books:

The Exceptional Child - K. Eileen Allen & Glynnis Edwards Cowdery (https://a.co/d/fnFqe5w)

Blink - Malcolm Gladwell (https://a.co/d/dzU8Zyr).

Outliers – Malcolm Gladwell (https://a.co/d/cM8ZIjT)

The Women Jefferson Loved - Virginia Scharff (https://a.co/d/17spTpC)

The Lion and the Lamb - James Patterson (https://a.co/d/3RbJCGB)