A Year In Review

LISTEN.  PATIENCE.  FORGIVENESS.  LOVE.

Well… it’s that time of year for reflection… A Year In Review.  2013 has been overall good.  Certainly, there are some notable ups and downs.  It has been a journey, for sure… and wished I had a road map to guide me from A to B.  I don’t.  I meandered, met lots of great people along the way, and enjoyed many wonderful edu-experiences.  My pedagogical journey has not been straightforward.  It would have been much easier had I stayed in my job, teach mathematics, do the same thing from year to year, and wait for “my pension date” to arrive.  In many ways, I wished that could have been me.  Life would have been much more predicable, safe, and secure.  I opted otherwise.  Jumped and took the plunge… some say brave, some say crazy… to learn more about education outside of the classroom.  Initially, I left teaching a few years ago to create space for my dissertation… but may have created too much space.  I wanted to share my voice with teachers for teachers… and succeeded as an SFU Site Assistant and educational consultant.  I desired to make a difference in mathematics education… and achieved this with the BC Association for Mathematics Teachers and Math K-9 Curriculum Development Team.  I am passionate about BC public education… and actively contribute as a school trustee in leadership roles such as the SD46 Education Committee Chair, member of the BC School Trustees’ Association (BCSTA) Education Committee, and appointed member of the BC Ministry of Education Standing Committee on Provincial Curriculum representing the BCSTA.  I get to talk about education and positively affect hundreds of students, locally and provincially.  This seems totally unimaginable.  Furthermore, I am grateful that I get to do some other awesome things such as co-moderate #bcedchat Twitter Chat with three outstanding educators from around BC, be one of the directors of the Sunshine Coast Community Futures Board focused on innovative local economic development, and spend a bit of time with my daughter and her learning experiences at school.  I also look back at other edu-opportunities in 2013 like presenting in Honolulu at the Hawaii International Conference on Education in January, being one of the keynote speakers at the UBC Aboriginal Math K-12 Symposium in February, presenting in Kelowna at the BCSTA AGM in April, and attending the Canadian School Board Association Congress hosted in Vancouver in July.  I could not have accomplished these career highlights had I remained a practicing secondary mathematics teacher.  With that said, I could not have engaged, contributed, and appreciated all that I have experienced had I not been a successful secondary mathematics teacher in BC public schools.  I left teaching to challenge my edu-beliefs, be an edu-explorer, and understand more about BC public education.  2013 has closed this chapter.  I have other challenges to face, thus my resolutions for 2014.  I could dwell on what has NOT happened… but maybe 2013 was not the right time. #optimistic #trust #gratitude #newyear