Reset

Being able to "go beyond the information" to "figure things out" is one of the few untarnishable joys of life.  One of the great triumphs of learning (and teaching) is to get more than you "ought" to.  And this takes reflection, brooding about what it is that you know.  The enemy of reflection is the breakneck pace -- the thousand pictures.  (Jerome Bruner, The Culture of Education, p. 129)

My biggest fear is going in front of a class and not being fully prepared.  That's probably why I've always worked ungodly hours, and why I've become such a committed planner.  Now that I have the opportunity to enjoy some downtime, I'm taking care of me.

Today, I went to see Dr. Printz.  Karen has been bugging me to go for weeks, because I've had a cough and sinus issues for over a month, but I had refused to go to the doctor until after I had finished my Kindergarten assignment.  Today, my blood pressure was 130/75, which was okay but I can do better.  I told Dr. Printz that Joe had made fun of my belly.  Dr. Printz suggested that I join Joe in practicing Tae Kwon Do.  I replied, "I'd kick his butt even as a white belt."  I need to get healthier because I want to have more energy.  Good health is a matter of personal responsibility, and I am a responsible person.

At Dr. Printz's office, I noticed charts that could help me set SMART diet and exercise goals.  When I returned home, I revisited Livestrong.com and rediscovered My Plate, an easy-to-use diet tool for tracking diet and exercise.

I've been watching The Skype Files, recordings of the motivator Les Brown, and Immunity to Change, lifescaping strategies by Paul Martinelli, because I need to make changes in my life, and I need to feed my mind with a steady diet of transformational thinking.  As a cancer survivor, Les discussed how he changed his diet and how he gave up meat, and joked that every time he picks up a phone, he now sees a drumstick!  My dad's a cancer survivor, just like Les.  He too has disciplined himself to eat right, and exercise daily.  I fully understand the benefits.

It irritated me that one of my coaches recently told me I needed "student teaching" to make myself more marketable, even though I already earned my 5 year teaching license and have now launched 3 classes.  I know my coach was right.  I know that I missed out on an essential component by going the career switcher route.  I've been coached by literacy and math specialists, have had high level help with classroom management, my plans match curriculum pacing guides, my classroom transitions were working with my Kindergarten class, and I've pretty well mastered the small group instructional model, but I need to be coached through the observation process.  It has been a steep uphill climb to get to where I am, and I know I am capable of taking my teaching to the next level.  I'm just not sure how to pay for it.

I'm going to follow Bruner's advice and "figure things out."