Informal Learning

Day 34 (of 187) – October 22, 2018

After an awesome few days in Whistler… I had a bit of time to return to the Sunshine Coast… to visit my dog, my kid, and my house. Again, thank goodness for my husband who drove me back to Vancouver from Whistler to catch the ferry in Horseshoe Bay. En route, we went to the Britannia Copper Mine Museum. That was fun. My husband panned a flake of gold and we took the tour. Loved the experiential learning aspect of this tour. I could not imagine being a miner in those days. Well, I was imagining and really, really didn’t want to be a miner in those days. Anyway, it was another fun learning experience to conclude my professional learning experience at the Northwest Math Conference.

I was so inspired this weekend, how could it get any better? Of course it got better. With my quick one-day visit on the Sunshine Coast, I had 3 coffee dates while my kid was in school. The first one we went for a walk on Davis Bay and had coffee (and blueberry pie) at Wheatberries. The second one was in Gibsons and we went to the Beachcombers for a delicious cappuccino. The third coffee was back in Sechelt at The Bakery where I had a medium skim milk latter and my favourite veggie pizza. I’m a bit of a regular at this place when I’m home. A hat trick of coffee made for a very busy day… but also an opportunity for INFORMAL LEARNING. All three of my friends are educators but have very different roles and responsibilities. What I love about these people is, they are MY CRITICAL FRIENDS. They are people I can “think out-loud” with… who will tell me the straight goods and vice-versa… and who inspire me with their strong will and conviction.

I feel very lucky to have these people in my life. In addition to these three, I have more people in my life who are my critical friends. They are the ones who will listen, who will advise, and who will lift me up. I can’t ask for any more. I feel lucky to have more than one critical friend in my life. They are people who I trust and respect. I don’t have to spend anytime to impress them… thank goodness. To me, it’s friendship at its finest.