"In order to be a mentor, and an effective one, one must care." ~ Maya Angelou in this PSA
Day six of the Reflective Blogging Challenge asks us to consider, "What does a good mentor do?" When I think back over my career I realise how fortunate I have been to have so many good mentors to guide me. Back then, I probably wouldn't have used the term mentor, but rather these people were trusted colleagues and many became friends. I think Maya Angelou's quote sums up why they were effective mentors - they cared.
Teaching is a challenging profession - it is not the type of job you can go to school to 'learn' and then, voila, you are an amazing teacher. Educational theory and understanding how children learn is important, certainly, but the art of teaching is a craft honed over time. I believe that is why the role of a mentor is so important, though what a good mentor might do would probably look different for different people at different points in their career.
At times a mentor can be that quiet voice of confidence to let you know that you can do it. A person you can trust and turn to when things don't work out as planned. As a teacher's confidence grows a good mentor might be someone to learn with, to encourage us to try different strategies, to take risks. It might be a colleague who shares their practice with you or plans lessons with you, pushing you just a little farther in your thinking.
I'm sure I could research and discover the qualities of good mentors and develop an argument about why mentorship needs to be an integral part of teacher induction. However, it is day 6 of the challenge, I've just finished my first day back after the break and I am tired! Before calling it a night however I just want to say thank you - to all of my many mentors... you cared.
In the end, the quest for balance is bogus. Love your burdens. Love them hard. And when your loves knock you down or your weak ankles trip you up, stop worrying about balancing - 'cuz you're not - and bounce.
~ Kelly Diels, Cleavage
I'm not sure how it happened, but nearly a year has gone by and I have not written one post. No excuses, no explanations, just a new determination to not let this happen again. So...
January is a reflective month for many and I have used this time to think about how I best learn and how a blog might support this and keep me on track. So often, as I strive for balance, things that are important to me (like this blog) get moved to the side to make room for being a good < > (insert various roles: mother, teacher, wife, friend and so on). What's getting in the way?
I tend to suffer from an "all or nothing" type of disposition and so when time is tight, I let things go, rather than make a small attempt. Over time, this inaction grows and eventually becomes overwhelming. I once had a close friend tell me that it was okay if I only sent her a one line email - she would rather I send the short note more often, than lengthy letters once in a blue moon. So this is my first insight into potential stumbling blocks to blogging and has become my first 'resolution'. I will set aside time once a week and write something - it might be one line, but I'll post it.
Another obstacle I must face is the fact that I'm really not much of a writer. I struggle to find the right words and am a bit of a perfectionist and so I am never really satisfied with anything I compose. I work with some amazing people (eloquent people!) and the blogs I read as a part of my PLN are not only informative, but moving, witty and well crafted. Trying to write in a way that is 'worthy' of being a member of such a network is exhausting (and not that much fun). And so - I will let that go (okay - I know that sounds easy, but it is hard for me!). My blog is written for me. It is a space to reflect on what I am learning, to sort out ideas, to share and record my wonderings. It helps me to become a better teacher and colleague. This brings me to my second resolution: I will write for myself.
My last resolution is actually something that I have always strived to do as an inquiry - model learner behaviour for my students. When I had my own class this happened quite naturally and I was able to write about our shared experiences more consistently. Now, working with so many different classes and teachers, this natural modelling doesn't happen as easily. There is a need to be more mindful. By returning to weekly writing in a blog, I will have authentic experiences to share with students (and colleagues) about the writing process, about reflection and struggling and commitment. And so, through this blog I will model my personal inquiries - my questions, my explorations, my reflections.
Letting go of this idea of being balanced is empowering. I feel more free to make thoughtful decisions about how I spend my time. I feel better equipped to bounce.
"The challenge in my life really is keeping the balance between feeling creatively energized and fulfilled without feeling overwhelmed and like I'm in the middle of a battlefield."
~Amanda Palmer
Not writing a post on my blog has been haunting me for months. The longer I waited, the more daunting the task became. I had many legitimate reasons for not writing: looking for a new job, finding one and then preparing a family for a move to a new country, moving, settling into a new role, new school, new home, new country. But it's been 8 months! I'm officially settled (and so is my family). No more excuses or long winded explanations ~ I'm going to eat my biggest frog.
Since moving into my new role as a Technology for Learning Coordinator at an international school in Switzerland, I've been feeling too overwhelmed to contribute my thoughts about anything. A 'virtual colleague' in my PLN, @DwyerTeacher wrote the blog post, A Sea of Ideas and it seemed to echo my thoughts. Having to define and explain what is important to me as I build new relationships with new colleagues - well it has simply been exhausting. Where do you start?
Then a couple of things happened this week to bring me back - the Hour of Code and a global classroom project. While these are two very different ways to integrate technology into primary education, both are at the heart of what I think is important to learning - they allow for student driven inquiry, they are flexible in order to meet students' individual needs and both endeavours are highly engaging.
And so I must thank my students for their enthusiasm during our first Hour of Code session. They were an inspiration and I had just as much fun as they did trying to solve the problems. This type of student engagement and the possibilities provided by technology to transform of education are the reason I keep learning and pushing my own little envelopes.
Finally I must thank a person I've only just met through our new collaborative global project. After reading her blog I have been inspired to get back on track and start reflecting on my own learning. Blog posts do not have to be essays or position papers. It's okay to be brief and write what you are thinking.
I am leaving the 'battlefield' of not being good enough and beginning to feel creatively energised once again. It feels good to be back.
The business of reflection in determining the true good cannot be done once and for all... It needs to be done, and done over and over and over again, in terms of the conditions of concrete situations as they arise. In short, the need for reflection and insight is perpetually recurring.
~John Dewey
I must preface this post with an apology for taking so long to write - I cannot actually believe that my last entry was at the beginning of October! It is not fair to say I've been busy - every teacher I know is exceedingly busy and yet many of them manage to write articulate, thought-provoking and at times, inspirational pieces regularly in their blogs. So, what happened? More importantly, how shall I remedy this?
In an attempt to 'work smarter' I am trying to bring the different aspects of my current context together. I cannot add the continual update of my class blog to this endeavor (which is a labour of love that I will always find time to maintain), but I can aim to focus my professional activities; a bid to stop spreading myself too thin and to participate more actively in my professional learning network.
What am I involved in?
One of the most time consuming activities educators face is keeping up with professional reading. There are just so many fantastic books and articles ~ and I love to read! What I found difficult was remembering where all of the great ideas were coming from - Was it in this article? That book? So, I began a professional reading journal that would help me to remember the key points and my thoughts about the reading. A helpful idea for me, but another time consuming task that did not lend itself to sharing and learning from others' thoughts about the material.
As a PYP teacher and workshop leader, I am also continually reflecting on my practice and thinking of ways to capture what inquiry based teaching and learning looks like in the classroom (my students are the most wonderful participants in this undertaking!) The creation of videos and reflective journals again takes time and while I was documenting what I might be doing, it didn't really help me to expand on this. What are other teachers doing? How are they approaching inquiry in their classes? How can we share these experiences?
Finally, I've decided to participate in a course with colleagues and work toward a Certificate in Educational Technology. Another amazing learning opportunity ~ being able to share and explore with colleagues, thinking critically about the ways in which we integrate technology in our classrooms and develop digital literacies - highly engaging conversations. Again, incredibly time consuming, but more importantly - how can we share the conversations with a wider network? Learn from the collective wisdom of our shared learning communities?
Bringing it Together ~ a potential solution
Professional reading, personal practice and coursework - how to align these practices and bring them together? And then it hit me ~ through my blog of course! I sometimes can't believe how hard it is to see the easiest of solutions. Why have I been separating all of my professional work, creating separate writing tasks, when I have a blog? This is even more embarrassing as I am an advocate of blogging; often talking about the value of this practice both for teachers and for students? And so, taking a moment to reflect on my practice (ironic isn't it!) I am now 're-inspired' to continue with my blog.
I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning.
~ J. B. Priestley
There is something so exciting about the start of a new school year. The anticipation of meeting new students and new colleagues. Reuniting with friends and catching up on all that has transpired over the holidays. Pulling together all you have read, viewed and thought about over the break. Writing the first word on a clean page in a brand new day book. The first blog post. I love being a teacher!! In what other profession can you continually transform what you do and put your learning into practice immediately?
And yet, there is a a twinge of fear alongside the anticipation. What if I can't keep up? What if I forget and slip into my old comfort zone? How will I possibly balance it all - as a mother, teacher, wife, friend, colleague? There is always so much going on in education - trends, research, articles, blogs, websites, social networking, SOS marches, authentic assessment, problem based learning, inquiry, flipped classrooms, standards, outcomes - ahhhh! It can easily become overwhelming. I think it has become more important than ever to focus on what is personally important to you as an educator and filter the vast amounts of information that are tweeted into our lives 24/7. Find your own passion and you will be better prepared to help students uncover their own.
I have spent a good deal of my holiday trying to uncover my own passion, by paying attention to those ideas that spark the immediate 'of course!' or 'great idea!' reaction. This was a technique learned years ago while reading Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach - learning to pay attention to what speaks to us - not necessarily what we think it should be. After doing this for a few weeks I was able to see that the lines of thought I followed and the articles and posts I took the time to really read all shared the following characteristics.
It's all about the students and learning.
We all know this, we all say this, but we don't always act as if this is the case. At least, I know I don't. Pressures from schedules and expectations from others make it far too easy for me to slip into a mind set of "I need to get this done." rather than stopping and asking, "Is this really best for my students?" Thus one of my goals for the upcoming school year is to be an advocate for my students. When decisions are to be made regarding curriculum or events I will ask myself first - "How will this impact students? How will it affect their learning? Their voice?"
Building a professional learning network is crucial.
Finding a group of people who share your passions is an inspirational and motivating way to learn. They 'get' you - they understand your challenges because they've been there, too. I have always loved collaborating with colleagues, but like all teachers, finding the time to get together with educators from outside of my school to share ideas and experiences is difficult. Hello - Twitter! This simple micro-blogging programme has changed my life and the way I view professional learning networks. There are other social networking programmes, including the very latest - Google+, but it is Twitter that has shown me the power of an online PLN. This year I plan to turn to my network (both online and in person) whenever I discover something and want to share or when I hit a snag and need support.
Technology is changing the how, why, what and where of education.
I love technology - I will happily and enthusiastically admit it. I love the 'cool' and 'wow' factors of something new and different - it's exciting! Yet...that is not why I believe technology is a vital element of education today. You simply cannot ignore the changes that technological advancements have brought about - our students live in a 'wired' world. If we continue to approach teaching and learning as we did in the past we are doing a disservice to our students, ourselves and ultimately, the future of our planet (okay - a little heavy for a back to school blog post!). Technology allows us to differentiate in ways that only a decade ago were impossible. Our students are now able to create and share with a global audience. They are able to collaborate with students from around the globe. Thus, another goal for this year is to remember the age we live in and act accordingly.
I stumbled across a wonderful description during my summer reading in a blog post by Shelley Wright discussing flipped classrooms. She described the classroom as a 'collaborative problem solving studio' for students ~ I love this idea. For me, it pulls all I am passionate about together - student learning, professional collaboration and technology. This year I will strive to create such a space with and for my students (as well as myself) to learn. If you have time, stop by @ 6C's Class Blog.
Teaching is a challenging profession - it is not the type of job you can go to school to 'learn' and then, voila, you are an amazing teacher. Educational theory and understanding how children learn is important, certainly, but the art of teaching is a craft honed over time. I believe that is why the role of a mentor is so important, though what a good mentor might do would probably look different for different people at different points in their career. 
