Expertise is a pretty strong word, so I’ll offer a few things I really like, and believe I’m pretty good at:
- Raising chickens. I was a farmer for years. http://eugeneweekly.com/2012/08/16/local-chicks/
- Teaching, coaching, inspiring is the calling of my life.
- Dreaming and building experiences for people to learn and have a a lot fo fun in the process.
- Baking sourdough bread (long before the pandemic made it cool), brewing beer, growing food and composting.
WORDS OF WISDOM
“Vulnerability is our greatest measure of courage.” – Brené Brown
Hi. I’m Derek Brandow. Instructor of Confidence, husband to the lovely Amandaleigh, and dad to Jackson, Dylan, Addison and Emery. That’s all the important stuff. I mean, I could walk away now and feel good about what you know, but I like to have a little more fun than that. I’m a serial believer. That means I see the wonder, brilliance, and worthiness in people until they can believe and see for themselves. The work/research/project that has captivated me since 2008 (and I can see occupying a lot of my time, for a long time) is the practice of connection; with myself and with other people. It’s why we are here, it’s what gives us meaning. That work is just always there, and I love it. I’m a teacher too. That’s not recognizing the title of my profession, but it’s who I am. I love to dream up and curate experiences for students to fall in love with themselves and learning. Depending on the season I can be found doing other things. In Winter it is bread baking, soup making, board game playing, seed starting. In Spring and Summer it’s getting back outside, in the garden, in the bee hive, on hikes or bike rides with the wife and kids. Fall is backyard campfires, pipe smoking, and cider pressing. We brew beer through it all. It isn’t always easy but it’s fun, it’s our beautiful ordinary, and I love it all.