Expressing Gratitude

Ahh yes… it’s Labour Day… aka. the last day of summer and it’s back to school tomorrow for my daughter… and back to a weekly routine for me. Well, I say that. I’m not sure what this will look like. It’s been 2.5 weeks since I’ve defended my dissertation and 2-weeks since my final draft of my dissertation as approved and submitted into the SFU Library. For the past 7-years, I have not had a “regular weekly schedule.” My husband would say… it was UNPREDICTABLE. I should have gone on holidays or camping post-dissertation, but I spent the last 2-weeks mulling over what’s next and transitioning back into regular life.

I am left with a lot of questions post-dissertation. I wrote The Other Side and Put In My Place in the past 2-weeks to reflect on where I came from to figure out where I am going. I did find a clue. I started to get “organized” for the new school year. I spent time on my September 2017 calendar and what I need to do and accomplish. I was overwhelmed with gratitude when I spent some time preparing for my first class at SFU. I’m teaching EDUC471 (Curriculum Development: Theory and Practice) again in the fall. I taught this course last year and feel very fortunate to returning back to SFU as a sessional instructor. I love imagining what this class could look like and getting the chance to facilitate it. I love the creativity and what I will learn en route. Also, I can make the course better.

Another clue came in an email. Someone read my #EDUC454D100 tweets and contacted me to see if I would present to her class in the SFU PDP program. I taught EDUC454 (Quantitative Approaches to Environmental Education) last term and LOVED IT. I loved it so much that I blogged about it every week, just like I did with EDUC471. What I am asked to present about is how I taught the course, which included place-based learning, Indigenous Education, and mathematics. I feel honoured, but truth… I wanted to play with the principles of BC’s New Curriculum and EDUC454 gave me the opportunity to learn about the curriculum’s potential. Now, I am asked to share what I have learned.

I am so happy to be back in the classroom, albeit at the university, but I love connecting with students and learning something new. I love the challenge of teaching content in a comprehensible way and provoking students to ask good questions about what they are learning. It’s way too fun for me. I love that I have the chance to learn with my students during the course and they are willing to learn with me. Moreover, I love that I get to continue my relationships after the course ends. Thank goodness for social media.

I believe in serendipity and things happen for a reason. Here’s an opportunity. Instead of feeling burdened by what’s next, I can reframe the question to what do I want to learn. First, I want to learn how to complete a research study that is not a dissertation. Second, I want to learn how to make a research poster and present it. Third, I want to learn how to write an academic article and publish it. Finally, I want to learn how to write a book. I love learning and I love learning from what I want to learn. Hmm… this is telling.