In a Timely Manner
End of Week 20 – August 2, 2020 – A good cup of coffee
This blog post has NOTHING to do with coffee, but it’s more about the feeling you get when you have an excellent cup of coffee (especially first thing in the morning). When something happens to you at the right time… aka. in a timely manner… you have to write about it. It’s time for my weekly blog, but also I’m also practicing my WordPress skills. I’m teaching a course in the fall on reflective practice, inquiry, and e-Portfolio.
This blog post includes a few tweets from yesterday. I appreciate being tagged in a tweet, particularly by someone from my PLN (professional learning network). I was one of 10 educators identified by Tim Cavey @MisterCavey who have overcame adversity as educator in the field of education. Tim is also the creator and moderator of Teachers on Fire Podcast @TeachersOnFire and he has interviewed hundreds of educators. To be one of ten chosen for this blog post, it feels amazing to be seen.
The 10 #TeachersOnFire whose stories are featured in the article above:
? @Kbahri5
? @JuliaFliss
? @AJCanle
? @MarisaEThompson
? @ChristineYH
? @mr_Alsheimer
? @JBR_Kleinmann
? @Gameboydrew
? @TechieTeachOtt
? @iamDrWillThank you all for sharing! ❤️??
— Tim Cavey (@MisterCavey) August 1, 2020
I quote tweeted the blog post. How could I not? I was taken a back, truthfully. Being an educator is challenging to say the least. There is lots of politics, plenty of conflicting agendas, and many challenges with trust, equity, and good decision making. That said, there were many good people in the system and I appreciate those who created space for me to grow and learn. Over time, one outweighed the other.
Hat trick of AMAZINGNESS on Twitter. Thank you @MisterCavey for this blog entry with @TeachersOnFire. Honestly… thank you for noticing. A majorly messy journey but grateful for people like you who I’ve met along the way. I could not do it without people like you. https://t.co/woULLCmV6a
— Christine Ho Younghusband (@ChristineYH) August 2, 2020
I just happened to be scrolling through my Twitterfeed and saw a few of amazing and inspirational tweets and Tim’s tweet completed the hat trick. I read the blog post and took a moment to pause. Wow. First, he remembered my story. Second, he framed my story so beautifully. Finally, he could see my story and recognized from all of his interviews that this is more common than not. I replied back to Tim’s tweet and said…
I see a bit of my story embedded in the 9 other stories. I appreciate the theme of hope & resilience. Struggle is part of the experience. The goal is to overcome. Thank you for this inspirational blog. I hope others can see, “Anything is possible.” You just have to believe it.
It’s true. Each story was a little bit different, but I could identity with each story. I could empathize with each educator highlighted in Tim’s blog post and how they felt and what they experienced. I am not a victim, although it may have felt that way at the time. I will admit, teaching is not for the faint of heart. You need to really know your why and be driven by what’s important to you. I am focussed on student learning and well-being. My provocation: How can I improve the student learning experience?
I really appreciated the questions that @TLBREIT mentioned in the latest episode of her #AccidentalInspirationalist podcast:
1. What can I learn from this?
2. How does this serve me + others?
Both questions have the potential to COMPLETELY alter how we see the current moment.
— ?Teachers On Fire Podcast (@TeachersOnFire) August 2, 2020
Tim replies back to my response with a couple of other responses and shifting one’s mindset. I love these questions. (1) What can I learn from this? (2) How does this serve me and others? Although my departure has completely disrupted the trajectory of my career and it has not been an easy to transition from K-12 educator to university instructor and teacher educator, I look back at 10-years and believe that everything was meant to happen exactly the way it did. My reasons for leaving K-12 and all the events that happened before the event, during the event, and after the event were a gift. I only have gratitude. I had much to learn and I am learning. That’s the gift. TY.