2021 One Word

 With 2020 coming to an end, lots of emotions come flooding to my mind, body, and soul.  It was a wild year for everyone with events and outcomes nobody could have predicted. My world, along with so many other people, was turned upside down and inside out. 

So as I was reflecting on my 2021 word, one came to mind rather quickly. 

Recenter (should I hyphenate that? Maybe? It is my word, so I'm going with it 😋)

I need to recenter my world.  Last year norms were shifted, relationships were impacted, digital time exploded exponentially... I, like so many others, was trying to reinvent normal without knowing what normal was. It led me to having more anxious days and nights, lower self-esteem and self-confidence, and an overall feeling of helplessness.

That isn't who I am.  So in 2021 I will recenter my world.

Professionally

As an educator I have never felt more lost, scattered, and yet supported than this year. I'm blessed to be part of a wonderful professional community, both in my school placement as well as in the twitterverse. 

My goal here is to recenter my support to others. I'm the math department chair / coach at my school. Over break I created some ideas to share with my colleagues and will offer them weekly as ways for students to do quick (5 to 10 minute) reviews of previously learned concepts so students continue to feel successful with current and previously presented material.  

As many of you know I have a first-year co-teacher this year. It has been a wonderful experience. I really enjoy the mentor role and also get excited to learn from her as well. I'm truly looking forward to the second half of the year and hope to continue to guide and push her in her rookie year!

I also know I need to blog more. I pressure myself into a blog-post-a-week schedule.  This, I've learned, is not reasonable and leads me to feeling helpless about being successful. Once-a-month, however, is well within reason. One lesson, one activity, one experience that I had as a teacher that I can share with the world. And have the courage to know that it may help another educator... 

Personally

I spent lots of time running. LOTS of time - more miles in 2020 than ever before. 2020 was supposed to be a banner year for me for events. I was scheduled to run my first 50 mile / 50k event(81 miles total) and my first 100 miler.  Unfortunately both events were cancelled... no. not cancelled. postponed. They are both scheduled to happen this year. However I fell off the training plans when I learned they were not going to occur. 

This year I am training for those two events even if the actual events do not occur. In June I'll run my 50/50. In October I'll go for my first 100 miler. 

Mentally / Emotionally

I know this is where I struggled most in 2020. I also know there are things I can do to recenter. I set a goal to read 30 books this year. Last year I read about that many, but most were during the lock down when I was literally not able to do much else. I also read a number of books that were re-reads for me. I'm going to dedicate time most evenings to getting off the screens, away from the apps, and getting back into a book. 

I have a couple of books lined up, but if you have any good book recommendations, please comment them below!

I've also set a goal to create a couple of playlists on spotify to help me when I'm having those tough mental moments. Music truly helps my emotional balance, and the right songs can help sway me back to my center.  

I'd also love to get into yoga, meditation, or other mindfulness activities. I've never been successful with these in the past, so if you have any suggestions, I'd appreciate it.

As we all embark on 2021, I want to wish all of you a healthy, happy, and safe new year.  Look for the blessings where they are, find hope and joy in each day, and please reach out if you need anything!

2017 reflection: teaching

This school year marks my 20th as a classroom teacher.  That has not really sunk in - there are times when I feel like I am that fresh-out-of-college kid with a couple dozen 3rd graders staring at me waiting for me to lead, all the while I'm waiting for a supervisor to come in to observe me.

I remember my first year of teaching well.  I was hired to teach third grade in Cathedral City, California at a school called Landau Elementary.  The school had a year-round schedule where there were four blocks of students that rotated one month off.  My schedule had me starting in July, taking off August, working September through Thanksgiving then off until New Years.  From there I worked January through March, had April off, then returned to finish the year in May and June.  There was a one week "reset" at the end of June and beginning of July, then the new school year started.

This system had pros and cons - but that's for another blog.

It was a very unique system.  It enabled the school to house 25% more students without needing to expand the campus.  The downside from an educator point of view is after each break you were in a new classroom for those three months.

I still remember my principal that year, the music teacher, my co-teachers... I remember my students and my first class photo.  I remember how I arranged the classroom and where I set up my two desktop computers...

Those students - those third graders - are just about 30 years old today.

I wonder if those students or I went back to Landau how similar it would look.  What has changed?

Here is a pop-quiz.  What year was this photo taken?

You might say 2012? 2006? 1998?

What about this one?

Could've been from my first year of teaching... Could be the classroom across the hall from you today.

Let's contrast that to another hobby of mine: video games...

Here is a video game I played in 1997:

Final Fantasy VII

And here is the game in 2017:

I don't own this game system. Accepting donations.

There is no mistaking the game of yesteryear to the game of today.  The same can be said of nearly every other profession. I know that a dentist office from 20 years ago doesn't look like the one I go to currently.  Yet there are classrooms that exist today that look and feel like it is still 1998.

So this leads to my word of 2018: Evolve.

As a veteran teacher (that feels so strange to write) it is easy for me to fall back into routines and previous lessons that 'worked well.' It is easy to fall into 'old habits.'   It is easy for me to have a bunch of 'traditional' lessons with a once-a-month "lookie at what I did" lesson so that I pat myself on the back. It is harder to create lessons, set up a classroom, and develop relationships that engage all students while focus on best practices.  Now is the time to reflect on previous teachings and evolve my lessons.

It is also time for me to evolve as a leader within the education community, both locally and globally. 
And yes, evolve will also apply to my running goals in 2018 as well.  Stay tuned!

My 2017 Word: Risk

Risk is a scary word. It implies injuries. It implies danger. Risk implies failure. I have worked at Camp Mary Orton for a number of years and when I run groups there we always talk about risk. There is risk in everything you do. When groups are doing the ropes course I remind them while the course looks dangerous, they have done the most dangerous thing already that day - they drove to camp. Statistically there are more injuries on the road then there are on ropes courses.

My summer playground :) 

Risk is more though. Risk is about exploring, if not conquering the unknown. Risk is aiming for greatness, but not always succeeding.

There are a number of places I have not taken risks. I have a fiction novel that I wrote a number of years back. One copy sits printed on a shelf while the original sits in a cloud. I have a teaching book that I’ve been writing for years. It’s sitting safely in my mind. The risk of writing it and the steps beyond that are too great for me to comprehend.

Quoting one of your favorite authors after that paragraph? Ironic...

This is only one area of my life I have not taken a risk. I plan on taking risks on a number of fronts this year - physically, emotionally, mentally, and professionally. We are about to take off on this great adventure called 2017. I’m hoping to have a number of stops along the way:

• Risk taking time for myself 
• Risk being selfish 
• Risk talking to authors and publishers 
• Risk running more and further than I ever have before 
• Risk implementing lessons that may not work 

Every great story starts with risk.  One of my favorite quotes is, “If you don’t risk anything, then you risk everything.” In fact it is the quote by my senior picture. My 2017 will be full of risk. I hope to see you along the way!

This pic will end up in my next kahoot :)