My Passions

I am currently reading the book Teach Like A Pirate written by Dave Burgess.  At the beginning of the book it talks about PASSION: content passion, professional passion and personal passion.  There are three questions that are posed around theses; what are you passionate about in teaching, what are you passionate about within your profession and what are you personally passionate about. 

I am passionate about teaching math.  I always struggled in math as a student and never really ever grasped the concepts.  I was always frustrated and spent most of my time in tears.  My teachers would work with me but would always explain the concepts in the exact same way, which would increase my level of frustration.  They tried and were doing what they thought was right for me at the time.  In the end it resulted me in hating math and never wanting to have anything to do with it.   In my first year of education at Brandon University my math methods professor Sandy Margetts ignited the passion of teaching math for me.  She taught us way to teach math in which kids could understand.  She focused on different methods and ways to teach with manipulatives.  She made math FUN.   I finally understood it.  It all made sense and from that point on I KNEW that I could make a difference in helping students that struggled understand.  Also, because I had struggled so much with math myself I never wanted another student to feel the way that I did… at least the students that I taught.   Not every student will be a mathematician, however, they all have the capabilities of learning the concepts, and it just needs to be taught in a way that they understand.

The reason that I choose this profession is to make a difference in the lives of kids. I want students to be able to learn and to love learning.  I want them to have confidence of who they are and I want them to be ale to stand up for themselves and what they believe in.  I have always been a fairly quiet person and really only vocalize my opinion when it is something I truly believe in.  Sometimes this gets me into trouble because when it involves one of my students I can become very opinionated.  I want my students to have that passion.  I want them to be able to feel strongly about something and to be able to use their voice.  I choose this profession because I want to ensure that every child who passes through my class or the school in which I teach to know that they are cared for.  I want them to never feel that they are alone, that they always have someone encouraging them and cheering them on.  I want them to know that they will always have someone on their side.  I chose this profession because I love learning and I want to be able to ignite this passion in my students.  I want them to read and to explore.  I want to help them find their passions and to become excited with them when they do.  I choose this profession because I am a kid at heart and I can truly get to the level of my students.  I love having fun, being silly and laughing with them.  They share so many neat things with me everyday.  I learn something everyday from my students.  Every student that I have taught has taught me something, has touched my heart, has helped in shaping the teacher that I am.  

 My students created at the beginning of this past year.  They came up with their signs on their own. 

I love animals, any sort but most of all I love dogs.  My students know this of me.  Every morning they will come in and ask me about my dog Oden.  They will tell me stories about their animals.   I am passionate about music.  Music creates who I am.  I love creating, listening and feeling music.  Music is a part of my everyday and this becomes part of my classroom.  Music creates mood… music creates JOY!  I have a love for learning.  I love reading about various things.  I will seldom pick up a fiction book but I love non-fiction.  I love learning about ways in which kids learn.  I love learning how to play a new instrument.  I love learning why rainbows form in the sky and why certain clouds make rain and other don’t.  I love learning about why people think things and how the brain works.  Most of all I love learning ways in which I can help people; mostly kids be successful in their lives.  I love technology.  I love how it is changing the world and how it is making learning accessible to everyone.  I often think that if technology was integrated into my learning I might have been far more interested in school.  I love that I am able to connect with people all around the world who all have the same passion as me.   Even though this profession is one that entails being “out there” I love quiet time.  I love sitting in the park and watching people walk by.  My serenity is going to the mountains and to the water.   The mountains are far from me but when I am there I am at peace. 

I love teaching; I love being able to make a difference in a child’s life.  I love that they know that they can count on me for anything. 

“Your passion will also help you become absolutely relentless in the pursuit of excellence.  With a focus on professional passion, teaching is no longer about relying the content standard…it’s about transforming lives.  It’s about killing apathy.  It’s about helping the next generation fulfill their potential and become successful human beings.  It’s not longer about memorizing facts; it’s about inspiring greatness.” (Burgess, 2012)

By Far the BEST EXPERIENCE...

I recently attended the Discovery Educator Network's Summer Institute in Burlington, Vermont.  There is nothing that could have prepared me for what I was going to experience.  From the moment I arrived I was greeted by smiles and warm welcomes.  Prior to leaving for DENSI I was unsure if I really wanted to go because I was going alone.  I found out very quickly that I was among many individuals "newbies" who were feeling the exact same way.   Within the first few minutes of arriving, Dacia had grabbed my bags and was taking me to my room.  Along the way she introduced me to so many people.  I was overwhelmed by all of the names and faces and I knew that there was no way that I was going to remember any of them.  I am pretty sure that Dacia could see my eyes spinning, she assured me that I was going to have the best time of my life and not to worry about a thing.   She introduced me to my suite mates, Deb and Patti who were both as equally amazing and filled me with a ton more of information.
Once everyone had checked in there was an opening BBQ.  This was an amazing way to get to know and connect with others.  That was the great thing about this experience, there were so many opportunities to force you to meet and speak with people and there was no way that you would be left out of anything.  I of course took it to a whole other level and found it necessary to fall in order to make it easier to make those connections.
The week packed full of amazing activities and sessions.   I had a really hard time choosing what sessions I wanted to attend because I wanted to go to them all.  AND when I was not in a session, I was trying to listen in to all of the conversations going on around me so that I could catch everything.  I never wanted to leave, the institute was full of such amazing and talented people who were all interested and consumed with the same things that I was.  All these individuals have the same beliefs as I do and they want to share.  The dedication and spirit of everyone at DENSI shone through and it was because of their love for their students and the love of teaching.
Not only did I have a chance to meet the most amazing people ever but I was also introduces to the best PLN.  I learned everyday that I was at DENSI and I find that I am glued to twitter during the day to continue to learn new ways to engage my students.
Porter Palmer and everyone who helped plan this week deserve a huge bouquet of flowers.  The week blew any expectations that I had out of the water.   It was by far the best learning experience that I have every had.  Thank you to everyone who attended and who is a part of the DEN and bring JOY to students everywhere.