Finding My Flow
August 31, 2024 – Last Day of the Summer Break
It’s the end of August and next week is the first week of the school year. A new cohort of teacher candidates arriving to the program as well as new students (to me) in the graduate course I am teaching. I have a tonne of things to do, and for this, I am grateful. I managed to complete a chapter with the help and collaboration of my colleagues on a research team, I presented at a national and local conference, and I monitored one of my courses asynchronously. I’m not sure where July and August went. The time just few by and I am so grateful to have some time to rest, travel, and find my rhythm. I love to teach, coach, and present. Connecting is my jam. Yay me!!
Maybe it’s the MATH PERSON in me, but I love making patterns. I had an awesome time supporting a small group of teacher candidates with their presentation at the UNBC Teaching and Learning Conference on August 28, 2024, and I presented twice on August 29, 2024. My first presentation was a LIGHTNING TALK about “in situ” learning at Harwin Elementary for EDUC 421 (Assessment and Motivation) and the second presentation was a panel discussion of which I organized a “fishbowl discussion” with research team members, design team members, UNBC School of Education students, and anyone else who came to our session to talk about local solutions for global impact regarding climate change. All 3 sessions went very well.
I ended my work week (and my first non-teaching term) with working on the webpage for a research project I am working on. I spent about 8-hours to train on the platform, of which I got 100%, and about 4-hours updating the webpage. That work was super satisfying. I was totally procrastinating the online training. The online delivery is not a teaching/learning style I prefer, but I managed to do much of the training in a tent, on a ranch, in Vanderhoof… with wifi… during my tiger time (i.e., 12am to 4am) at a retreat for another project I am working on. I can see why I procrastinated the asynchronous training. It took me awhile to understand what information was important and unimportant, and there were some inconsistencies within the platform. When I returned home, I figured out the glitches and submitted my work. 100% is very satisfying, and updating the webpage was even more satisfying.
What I am realizing is, I do a lot of work that many people may not recognize, see, or value. In the big picture, it does not matter. I like what I am doing. I love travelling, meeting new people, and presenting at conferences (even when the 7-minute Lightning Talk took me HOURS to create, compose, and prepare for). It’s never perfect and I’m always willing to try new things. Most of all, I love to MAKE CONNECTIONS. I love making connections between policy and practice, connections with people, and connections within my practice. I don’t need external validation (i.e., an award, recognition, or promotion). I get plenty of unsolicited compliments from students who can see and experience my work. That’s the ultimate goal. I just need to remember to DO WHAT MAKES ME HAPPY. Everything else will fall into place.