Confession: I was too busy to even think about blogging since last Thursday. But, since I am the teacher-pleasing, sit in the front row, kind of student, I feel the need to catch up on the topics I missed. So, I’m doing a quick line to respond to each prompt on 4/17, 4/18, and 4/19. Then, I will blog in more detail about today’s prompt.
17th: TGIF – What are you thankful for on this Friday? I am grateful for good friends. Got to hangout with some awesome friends to celebrate birthday on Friday night. The pic at the top is with my beautiful children who “built” me a cake for my actual birthday on Sunday. I’m more than thankful for them.
18th: What’s small step are you willing to take to elevate the profession? I hope that the steps I take each day elevate my profession. Working with students, teachers, support staff and administrators, collaborating with other educators via social media, blogging (!), reading professional articles for my own personal growth, all work together to elevate the profession.
19th: Tech in the classroom – How? Use technology as it would naturally play into the instruction/project/activity. Why? Because technology is a part of our every day lives. Why shun it from school and the classroom? Should we? Of course (see previous statement).
Today: What are you working on NOW? It could be personally or professionally but in order to get to tomorrow’s change, we must be preparing ourselves today. I am working on a few things right now, both personally and professionally. Some of these endeavors are ongoing.
- Professional Growth – I spend some time each day on my professional growth by reading articles online. In addition to reading them, I try to reflect on the articles and respond there, or write about them here. If I’m really excited by something I learned, I want to share it with other educators.
- Job Search – As education administrator openings start getting posted, I am spending more time looking and applying for positions that are a good fit for my talents, skills, and passions. I am also looking outside of the school box at consulting, training, and other professional development opportunities. It is an exciting time as I move toward a new adventure.
- Personal Growth – Again, this is something that should be never-ending. I don’t read much “self-help” types of books for enjoyment (Give me a novel and a beach and I’m set!), but I am reading two right now. I read these types of books slowly, because I’m not very motivated to read them and because I want to get the most out of them as I can. One book I’m currently reading is about work life, in general. The other is for creating stronger marriages. I think growth can take on more forms than just “learning” in the traditional sense, too. I learned how to play laser tag a couple of weeks ago (so much fun), and got to enjoy my kids at the same time. My daughter will start junior high next year. I (along with my husband) are discussing things we need to think about now to prepare for that big change.
Overall, I think learning should be fun and beneficial. Will it always be fun? Of course not. But when it is, I’m more likely to continue it. Will it always be beneficial? Yes. I either learned something from the experience, or learned that I won’t have that kind of experience again. Change is hard to prepare for. I think the most we can do to prepare is to be open-minded, and attentive.
