Wow, it's hard to believe it's been 7 years since I've made a post here! A co-worker recently encouraged me to write about what I am doing this year in my classroom and it reminded me of this blog! I had forgotten about it! She is right, it is time to start writing again. It is a good reminder for me as to why I am doing what I am doing! I wonder why I ever quit blogging. I don't really remember what kept me from moving forward. Did I plateau with my growth at that time? Was I tired and didn't feel I had anything to share? Was I simply too busy? I'm not sure. What I can say is that when I read back over my posts I realized how long ago it was that some colleagues and myself decided to push the envelope of what was traditionally done and some of my beliefs are still here and some have definitely changed! Recently some colleagues (one is still the same as in the initial "push") and I have been pushing the envelope once again! Over the next while I will share some of what we are doing in our classrooms. But first I will reflect on what led us to this point!
A few years ago I sort of hit a wall with education. I was tired. I was counting down how many years I had left and questioning whether I wanted to stay at my current school or whether I should finish out my career in another school. I wasn't really happy. I knew this when September rolled around and I wasn't excited to return to school. This had never happened before. I was usually ready to be done in June but then excited for the new year to start. Not this year. I have always been one who needs change every 3 - 4 years. This is evident if one was to look at my career - 3 years at ND, 3 years in Shellbrook, 1 year in Groton, then a mat leave 4 years into my time at Carlton, a mat leave 3 years later, a secondment to the Ministry a couple of years later, work with SPDU. However, a few years ago I was at my longest stint without a substantial change and knew something needed to happen or it would be a long last few years until retirement! I thought about ending my career with middle years - I enjoyed teaching grade 9's and figured grade 6 - 8 would be a welcome burst of energy that I needed to spark some passion once again. However, my principal came to me and suggested that I replace one of our FTV (Following Their Voices) Facilitators who was going on mat leave. I straight up told him I didn't think I was the right person for the job. However, he didn't listen and I was scheduled to take over in a few months when she left. Little did I know that this would be the change that I needed to start another journey into pushing the envelope of education....
I took over this role in November 2019. It involved observing teachers in their classrooms for data collection for the Ministry Initiative. I learned so much from my colleagues! I would try to incorporate things they had tried in their classrooms into my own. I was seeing alternative ways to approach students and it was exciting! I still didn't feel I was the right person to be facilitating the initiative, but I was appreciative of the professional growth opportunity it gave me. However, all of this was short-lived as in March 2020 the pandemic was just getting going and the schools were shut down. Although I realize that for many, this has not been positive, for myself, the pandemic so far (it's still not over and I could feel differently by the time it's done), has been what I needed to find my passion again. For years in my professional growth plan, I would say I wanted to find new and creative ways to reach students and incorporate technology into the classroom. However, I would never really have the time or I wouldn't take the time to do this well. COVID 19 didn't allow for it to not be a priority. We had to jump right into moving things online and learning how to use technology and be innovative to reach students who were no longer in front of us. I LOVED this! I LOVE planning. I LOVE learning new things. I now had to MAKE TIME to do this and I LOVED it! While others were stressed (and rightfully so) I was stressed but having a blast being stressed. I found my "group" of other like-minded colleagues and we have fed off each other and are flying to challenge ourselves to be better for our students. We have been encouraged by our Administration to think outside of the box and we are supported to try new things and the flexibility is there to try, revise and try again. The culture has been created that it is okay to not get it right the first time. At the end of the day, if our purpose is for the betterment of the students, we have the green light to try almost anything! I can not wait to share what we are doing! However it is so hard to explain all at once, it's messy, it's not perfect, and some days I don't know where I'm going, so it will take a while to put into words what it is exactly! What I can say is that the passion is back. I LOVE my job every day again. Some days I think I could go past my retirement eligibility.....LOL. I won't, but I think I could. It's that much fun for me again!
Part of finding my passion again was having the opportunity to try something new. Outside of my very first year of teaching, I have been teaching the subject of math. Along the way, I had a few favorite math courses - I liked Foundations 30 as it wasn't just formula-based. There is a lot of statistics and probability, set theory, financial math - all of which allow for creativity. I enjoyed math 9 where there was time in the curriculum to allow for some "fun" activities. I enjoyed the workplace and apprenticeship pathway, which again, had a curriculum that was applicable and allowed for conversation and engagement. What I have realized is I'm not a teacher because I love the curriculums, I am a teacher because I love interacting with my students. I want them to enjoy their school experience. The funny thing is, the FTV Initiative is about following "their" voices, a.k.a. building relationships with students. Jody Carrington's new book "Teachers These Days" focuses on building relationships with students. Other educational gurus will also speak to forming relationships with students being key to success in the classroom. When I think back over why I would say those were my favorite courses, it is because they all allowed the freedom to have some fun with students. I have always known I wanted to be a teacher, but I originally wanted to major in English and minor in Phys. Ed. My Dad talked me out of those to pick something that would be easier to get a job in, so I majored in math and minored in computer science. At the time he wasn't wrong - there were three times the English majors and math majors so I had no problem finding a job. However this year, as part of my change, I am facilitating the learning of ELA 9, A10, B10 and 20 to my students and am LOVING it! I realize why I likely wanted to major in English. There is so much room for creativity and flexibility and personalized learning! It's taken 26 years but I am doing what I initially wanted to do! I do realize that had I done it all along, I may not feel the same - sometimes change is simply what a person needs at that time!
Regardless of what caused me to get where I am ("forced" facilitator role and pandemic!) I have passion again! I look forward to sharing what my year looks like and I hope to continue to learn so that I can be the best teacher for my students!
