handwritten on February 2, 2020
For whatever reason today, I was thinking a lot about the fact that I have sent more students to the nurse this year than any other year. I tried to rack my brain today as far as what the reasons may be..
Am I getting weak?
Do I not care as much about my instruction?
Am I "softer" than I used to be?
I think the answer to all three questions is no and as I was searching for greater clarity on this issue today, I think I finally realized the difference. For whatever reason, I have come to the realization that if a student needs to sleep on my carpet because they didn't get sleep the night before..they should sleep. If a student is doubled over in pain at their desk, they should go lie down....
handwritten on January 31, 2020
4miles: This was a bit of a hectic week and thus writing was slightly limited, and I think this is okay. It was a good week. Strange in the sense that the week went by quickly but the hours in the evening seemed longer and allowed time for much needed reflection and thinking. I had multiple raw conversations with close friends and colleagues this week. And I noticed a lot of the talking was centered around looking underneath the life that has been created, the actions that have passed by and the behaviors that have occurred and the decisions and why certain decisions were made. I think what I realize when talking with people about how they are personally or their story up until "this point...
handwritten on January 27, 2020
3.0 miles: My brain tends to be one that has a difficult time turning off. For those who know me, they know this bears some truth. But whilst running today, I was reminded of the importance of thinking but also the importance of thinking outside of you. I asked a lot of questions during my run like: "Why did that child say THAT at that specific time?" or "Why did that particular student do "x, y and z" a specific way? Or, more recently entering into my mind: "Why did my own mother decide to go into education, why is she still there and what hopes does she have for the future?" I think sometimes (I know I am guilty of this) we tend to surpass questions and just talk about the new and...
handwritten on January 26, 2020
1 mile: Tonight was a beautiful night of shared food and love and talking. We are so very lucky to have a beautiful family that is nearby and loves one another. I had to smile because it is always evident that when you actually sit down in the spirit of hospitality, you learn something new from one another. Tonight we somehow got on the topic of children's names or I shall say "future children" names. It was quite interesting because my mother-in-law explained very clearly how my husbands sister's name was chosen as well as the naming system during the Cultural Revolution in China. Two important moments of clarity for me tonight were as such:
You truly will never know unless you ask...
handwritten on January 25, 2020
I have been reflecting much with my sister-in-law on a project we hope to get started one day. And I think both of us have been thinking and reflecting as best as we can regarding what the vision should be, how we should get it started, who we should talk to. And today was a turning point in it all. Though I am going to refrain from revealing our next steps which has taken on an entirely different project, I think it is important to realize nothing is about us. Our students are not our students, our ideas should stem from others, our faith in humanity should be shared- we need to create mirrors and windows namely through storytelling. And I have found that I can change the first line (below...
