As I made my 2 hour drive home from #KTI2016 summit today, I was surrounded by beauty. The mountains, the valleys, the wildlife, and the clouds. All of these things had me reflecting about one of the most awesomeness weeks I have had in my entire professional career. Here are few of the things I reflected on:
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| The Mountains that I would eventually climb! |
- The mountain chains came together to make such a beautiful scene, and that made me think that the 100 stars that were present this week and the 22 (or so) lead leaders came together to create something extremely beautiful. Beauty was created because...
- We created a family that will continue to grow and support each other.
- We celebrated so many achievements and encouraged others to do the same.
- We formed friendships that will last a lifetime.
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| The path ahead of me as I climbed the mountain. |
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| Literally, making an almost 180 degree turn. |
- The view that WAZE (my GPS app) is showing. As Aaron Sams (@chemicalsams) told us, the path of our career is not a straight line. My take-away from that: There are tons of curves and zigzagging happening, and sometimes, you have to make that 180 degree turn and head in a complete different direction. It truly was amazing to me that I wasn't even on the road for 1/2 hour, and this showed up on my screen. I literally had to pull over and save the pictures. My dream is to never leave the classroom. I plan to retire a math teacher. Is that what is in the plans for me?
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Imagine this cub running really fast!
Permission from https://pixabay.com to use. |
- The black bear cub that ran across the highway in front of me (I so wished I could have gotten a picture of him) was running full force, with ears back, and with determination in direction. I chuckled, because at that moment, I thought about me as a connected educator, and what I want to do with everything I learned at the summit. I want to run, full force, directly to my administrators and colleagues to share everything I learned. I want to do BreakoutEdu with EVERYONE, and get all of my colleagues using different formative assessments. I want to help all to create a positive learning culture (which is the foundation to everything else in the classroom.)
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What do you see?
Permission from https://pixabay.com to use. |
- The clouds made me reflect! How many of you look at the sky, and imagine what shape a cloud makes? I did that quite a few times today on my trip. I saw a crocodile, and a profile of a man with a large chin. I also saw several teddy bears (one lying down), a hand holding a ball, and a squirrel in flight. The clouds made me reflect that there is always a possibility. Nothing is impossible. With every idea thought or proposal, there are always "yes, if..." statements. Toss the "no, but..." statements to the landfills. Imagine the possibilities, and imagine what is needed to help that kindergartener entering this year graduate in 2029 with the ability to interact with her world.
- As I traveled today, the sun kept popping in and out, hiding behind clouds, and then being fully exposed. That reminded me of being flexible, stepping outside my comfort zone, and being a teacher that simply bumps the rudder of her students' boats. Be the flame that all students need!
