This meme came across my feed recently. It's message has been rattling around my head the past week and I've really been reflecting on the meaning as it applies to my life. I am so blessed to have such a supportive system around me.
This to me boiled down to these questions: Who takes care of you? Who do you allow into your life? How do you let them help you?
For me the answer fell into many buckets:
My family: I am blessed with an amazing family. My wife and I just celebrated the 24th anniversary of our first date. We just watched our older child start college and our younger one start 8th grade. We all have different goals and dreams, and we all support each other. I have some crazy ones: between my ultra running, my teaching schedule, and my American Sign Language class, so many hours of my week are consumed by non-family events.
My wife and kids have similar craziness: work schedules, orchestra, college, my kid's home baking business... the list is exhaustive. It would be easy for everyone to say "sorry too busy" when one of us had a special event.
But we don't. We make sure to sit down and have dinner most nights and family game nights a few times a month. We get to school events. We attend all of the children's concerts. There is never a question of "are we going" but more of a "what time do we have to be home to get there on time?"
My school: I work at a school that encourages me to develop myself professionally. I really want to present more, and so the leaders of my school encouraged me to apply to present at AMLE 2019 for a third time. When we found out that my proposal was accepted, they celebrated as much as I did. When we discovered that the conference would happen the same week as our trip to Washington D.C, they looked for any way possible for me to attend. When that didn't work out, they said they expected me to present in 2020.
The administration challenges me to improve my craft and lets me develop the leadership skills I want to evolve and expand. When I have an idea or observation, I'm comfortable bringing it to my team leaders.
see you in Baltimore!
My friends: There are so many people in this category. I have friends that can join me on a long run and process my school day or some activities I have in mind. I have friends that I can go out to dinner with to vent or chat. I have friends that enjoy game nights and friends that I can just talk to over instant messenger since they are no longer local. Some of them I've only known a year or so, and others I have known since I was in high school. I value all of them and hope I bring as much value to their lives as they do to mine.
My #PLN: I can't count the number of times I have logged onto twitter with a question or idea and had replies within the hour. I don't understand why more teachers (or other professionals) do not take advantage of this resource. We build ideas on ideas, develop thoughts, and help share what worked for us. I'm launching my FlipGrid lessons this week SPECIFICALLY with feedback from people in my PLN. When I have a bad day, lesson, or idea, these people help me get back on track.
As we are getting into the opening stretch of the school year, I'd encourage you to think about your support group and how they will make your year amazing.
Thank you for writing and sharing this. Such an important reflection as so many of us are about to begin, or have recently begun, a new school year. We all need to be reminded that we can't do everything alone and to be grateful of the support we have.
ReplyDeleteThank you - it is so easy to forget gratitude, especially in the chaos of the first couple weeks of school!
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