To What Far Shores Do Our Eyes Fall...
Look at what life does sometimes...pulls us from some shores and pushes us into others we cannot have anticipated would find us moored there. When I began this blog, I was in my own classroom and working with my own students and my own experiments in technology and learning. Since then, I have moved to the position of Literacy Coach with my school district and been working in ELAR, Math, Science, and History classrooms. If anyone thought that all of the content matter learning in college wouldn't come in handy after specializing in our chosen fields, they were WRONG! I am about to complete my second year as a Literacy Coach, and "Boy, are my arms tired!" (Ok, so if you're not laughing, I will explain.) By that I mean, I have been so busy and moving so much to be in so many places that I feel like I should have the ability to fly! People used to ask me, "So what is your favorite part of what you do?" Aside from the obvious of working with students and seeing their little lights go on, it's that every single day is different. I am not someone who can find happiness and fulfillment leading the same life every day. I enjoy moving variables; I long for new adventures in everything I do. I am not afraid of my world being different every time I walk into a classroom; I hope for it!
This is NOT to say that consistency isn't a very important part of what I do. To the contrary, it enables me to enjoy the unpredictable! Consistent expectations, consistent outcomes for basic choices, consistent reliability and openness...all of these things have made me successful as a teacher, a mother, and wife. Knowing that there are certain core variables that I, my family, and my students can count on armor us to be able to seek out the unexpected and the unfamiliar together. Adventure becomes part of the plan, not something that happens by accident.
Technology flourishes under this same construct. The boundaries are malleable and negotiable once we agree on the core consistencies of ethics and purposes for them. Through the acceptance that we will approach each new "thing" with an openness and analytical nature, we can adventure through what new technologies may arise. Like most anything in our lives, we can decide if each one is something that will enhance our lives or diminish our quality if life (and therefore, avoid those).
I have been told that I will be able to remain a Literacy Coach for the next school year. I know that there are new adventures and possibilities in the new venue and shiny new opportunities. I have learned so much in the last two years about classrooms, students, teachers, technology, and myself. I will recommit to writing those things down here...the rewards and challenges of being a "21st Century Teacher".
Citius, Altius, Fortius!
V :)
This is NOT to say that consistency isn't a very important part of what I do. To the contrary, it enables me to enjoy the unpredictable! Consistent expectations, consistent outcomes for basic choices, consistent reliability and openness...all of these things have made me successful as a teacher, a mother, and wife. Knowing that there are certain core variables that I, my family, and my students can count on armor us to be able to seek out the unexpected and the unfamiliar together. Adventure becomes part of the plan, not something that happens by accident.
Technology flourishes under this same construct. The boundaries are malleable and negotiable once we agree on the core consistencies of ethics and purposes for them. Through the acceptance that we will approach each new "thing" with an openness and analytical nature, we can adventure through what new technologies may arise. Like most anything in our lives, we can decide if each one is something that will enhance our lives or diminish our quality if life (and therefore, avoid those).
I have been told that I will be able to remain a Literacy Coach for the next school year. I know that there are new adventures and possibilities in the new venue and shiny new opportunities. I have learned so much in the last two years about classrooms, students, teachers, technology, and myself. I will recommit to writing those things down here...the rewards and challenges of being a "21st Century Teacher".
Citius, Altius, Fortius!
V :)
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