Sacrifice, Pursuit, Determination

I had a really good conversation with a colleague David Truss last night, which has inspired this post. We shared about education, leadership, and our passion for learning; and although we obviously have things in common, our paths have not been the same and our processes are unique. We have in common making a change in life to focus on health and well-being; and this involves getting up early many days, exercising, checking Twitter, and blogging among other things. Sometimes you don't truly appreciate the changes you have even made for yourself until you connect with someone who shares a similar, albeit different journey. I was inspired through our conversation and my own reflection at how the trajectory of one's life can change, and change rapidly within short time.

I was curious as we talked about our rhythms and patterns, which respectively fuel our writing. Often my writing is inspired and filtered by my running. If you have read some of my other writing you might not be shocked by this! Often for me it's a stream of consciousness after I've been in my happy place alone with my thoughts. Actually this has always been a part of my process, I just didn't explicitly say it early on in my blog posts, but it was there. Then there was a huge gap in time when I wasn't blogging. You know why? I wasn't running and I also wasn't very healthy in my body and in my habits. When I run, I think and I filter ideas that have been loosely floating on the edge of my mind. When I run, I zone in on what's important and I start to form images, like a photo slide-show, in my mind and then begin to thread the ideas together. This is why when I used to present a lot to other educators, I would build slides of photos and I would build my ideas around them. For awhile I had to convert my slides to a QuickTime presentation file because I wanted to keep the formatting I had built in another program, but in doing so I lost the ability to see the order of the slides like you would in a power-point presentation. So this meant I had to memorized all my slides in order, and sometimes I was doing an hour or even longer presentation; but it was easy because the images were all I needed to remember the concepts and ideas.  I wouldn't say I have a photographic memory, but it is how I find a lot of things that are misplaced around the house or school!

Creating imagery is one of the most powerful tools of the imagination that I use to connect with my thinking. I actually wrote some of my best (I consider my best) graduate papers by starting with an image in my mind or even drawing or creating some art. So sometimes this is how my posts begin-with an image. Dave shared about how often the 'title' of his posts inspires his writing...so I thought I would try it out! "Sacrifice, Pursuit, Determination" is the title of this post. This is how I started today! I will now relate it to my morning run, otherwise you might be disappointed, right!? :)
I didn't want to get up again. My body was a bit sore. It had been a long day the day before. The first kilometer on the treadmill this morning was hard! I didn't want to do it, but the goal was ahead and it required SACRIFICE. So I kept going and the second kilometer was even harder, but I went on. It would have been easier to pack it in and go back to bed. As I continued into the third and fourth kilometers my mindset shifted into the PURSUIT of my goals. It's more than just this run though, it's about my entire journey. I start to think then about what I am after and what I need to continue to do, or even do differently to get to where I want to be. Then comes DETERMINATION. Although this could equally be the first word, I recognize that I need this mindset to continue on when things get tough and I feel like giving up. The final kilometer is often faster for me when I run, but it's always the hardest. There are plenty of reasons to say "good enough" or "that will do", but when I stay focused I reach beyond what I thought I could when I started out.

It's not just about a 5KM run, it's about my health, it's about my career, it's about the people in my life who encourage me and make me better, and who are worth the sacrifice, pursuit and determination to get better and be better. They deserve it and I deserve it, and so do you! This was a different process today for me in my writing, but I quite liked it! Thanks @datruss for connecting with me and offering me another way to imagine and think!

Learning - it takes skill(s) and imagination

There are many researchers and authors who have written extensively about learning and development. I'm not necessarily bringing anything new to this conversation, but what follows here is a statement of my beliefs and it is what drives me forward in my role as a lead learner.

All skills need to be taught. Kids don't automatically learn to say please and thank you, we have to teach them these things, and hopefully they become more proficient and adept at using them in new situations over time. I actually believe that this is true of all learning! But if we think there is an easy or direct path from instruction to mastery, then we have got it all wrong from the very beginning.

Learning requires the acquisition of new skill(s) and the development of the imagination, and so does instruction. Our teaching must require intentional planning of the steps and skills necessary to understand a new concept, but this is not just done directly if our goal is to gain a lasting and deep understanding. It must also be done in concert with and through the implementation of imaginative processes. This is important when we are considering the types of experiences we put kids through.

At our school, we have been focusing on daily routines that help students towards independence (and through making connections with others). But how exactly? This is my main question right now. How do we do this, and how do we know that it's having a positive impact? I will offer that it is through the use of specific strategies and tools, and by developing an imaginative mindset for learning. (I will have to unpack and explore this further in other posts, but there is a thread through my earlier posts from my classroom experiences). 

I believe that we need to further explore the structures, strategies and interactions that support the development of the imagination in learning. UDL, self-regulation programs like the Zones of Regulation, Daily 5 Literacy routines, Numeracy Cafe routines, executive functioning visual schedules, circle and calendar times...these are all examples of the good work that can support learning towards independence, but I believe we can go even deeper. 

If we ask ourselves not only what the goal is, but also what the specific steps are, then we can observe how this is working. This also opens our eyes to see how accessible learning is for all learners, and will help to lay down clear pathways for all learners towards a deeper understanding and development.

My hope as a lead learner is always that, although this may look slightly different in each classroom environment, there will be more consistency across a school, and therefore result in more collaborative conversations and planning for all learners. At our school specifically we say that teamwork, kindness and respect are the values that guide us in all our actions and decisions, and that "together we are stronger". I believe this to be very true, and all I will add to this is that when we change up our routines to make them better, we need to have grace for ourselves, and continue to have fun, take some risk and use our imaginations for the benefit of all.

Running out of ideas? Be grateful!

Running out of ideas?...not exactly. Getting up earlier everyday (today it was 4 AM) to fit in my running has also allowed me more time to reflect more and prepare for the day ahead instead of just "hitting the ground running".

Sometimes, like today, I am finding that it isn't always a thesis of thoughts that consumes me, instead running is helping me to filter out all the noise and distraction to focus in on what's most important. So today my heart and mind are filled with gratitude for the people in my life who encourage me, challenge me, and stick with me when I get stuck in the muck! Gratitude is what moves me forward today!