A little girl at a presentation last week asked me why Nacho has a bell on his harness. This bell is a relatively new acquisition for Nacho, purchased at the Vermont Country Store
http://www.vermontcountrystore.com
when Nacho and I visited Vermont in March to give sixteen speeches and to reunite with Nacho's puppy raisers and the children at the elementary school and high school where he spent many puppy days. The bell is brass and is attached to a small leather loop that can snap onto a collar or, in our case, a harness. He has been wearing it while he works ever since our Vermont trip.
*****Photo of Nacho as a little puppy*****
Why did I buy the bell? I love the sound. It is crystalline and pure. I also remember how helpful it is at conventions with a large number of guide dogs and blind people to have a bell on a guide dog, to be an audio alert that a handler and guide dog are coming. Largely, though, if I must admit the truth, I bought the bell for Nacho because I am proud of him and I want others to notice him.
*****Nacho and I at our first speech, three days after we graduated as a team last summer*****
It is like this. Nacho is gorgeous...that is not in doubt. He is super at his job too, making the occasional mistake but shining brightly and never repeating an error. He has given me the best first year of a partnership of all four of my guide dogs, and I've had great dogs. This best first year is coinciding with the most chaotic year of my life, currently numbering 323 speeches, twelve states, twenty flights, and dozens of meetings, classroom observations, and other obligations. I wanted him to have a bell, to announce his awesomeness and our triumphant survival together through a year beyond imagination.
*****Nacho and I proudly wear our Battle Groun Middle School garb, two of the many shirts we have received after giving speeches at schools around the country***** 
So, a bell he has! People hear it and turn. They see a dog striding steadily forward with tail lifted in a gentle curl. They see him occasionally sniff the air to interpret some scent that evades me. They watch him walk sedately down an aisle with my hand gripping the harness handle, a soft smile on my face. They see no tension in my grip or on my face because I know Nacho will handle things and we will succeed as a team. Then, the people smile. Ear-to-ear, teeth-showing, face-splitting smiles! I know this because sighted companions have reported it. In Macey's or in a school hallway or in a church basement or in the patio furniture department of Menard's, people smile. It is as if the bell itself is linked to the smile, like a Pavlovian response.
*****Nacho and I relax on the porch of our hotel in Vermont*****
Do you have a bell? Something to announce your awesomeness? If you are a teacher, you probably don't. We are incredibly good at downplaying what we do and incredibly bad at celebrating ourselves and our achievements. This self-effacement is likely a contributor to some of why education has taken multiple hits in public perception in recent years, feeding the problems with retention, recruitment, and morale.
*****Nacho as a four-week-old puppy, unaware of his magnificent destiny as of yet!***** 
I see the tide turning. I see a positive swing toward teachers being valued for what they do. I see a brightness and hope bubbling underneath the surface even amid policy debates and glaring question marks about what candidates will do for education this election year. And yet, I don't hear enough bells. I'd like to hear more, in the form of tweets and Facebook posts and letters to the editor and celebratory bulletin boards, all magnifying the day-to-day growth, persistence, and attainments of students, teachers, departments, schools, districts, teacher preparation programs, and states. Nacho grew from an adorable puppy into a magnificent guide dog, and I'm proclaiming it boldly! Similarly, we know good things are happening in this noble profession...we just need to learn how to ring those brass bells!