What is the purpose behind a meeting? Last week I attended a conference, it was a fantastic experience. It gave me information and ideas to take back to my classroom to inspire my teaching and make it better. Every week my school district has PLC time (Professional Learning Communities.) This time is intended for collaboration and professional development. It is supposed to be a time when teachers can come together and share ideas to enhance their teaching, learn from each other, and build a more cohesive district b;y sharing resources. Instead, it has become a time where the inspiration I feel is drawn out of me. It is a time I listen to my fellow educators complain about the task at hand, about our lack of resources, about the administrators of our district. It has become a time of absolute dread for me. It is so disheartening because I have experienced being inspired by fellow educators. I have learned from other educator's experiences. I have left a session feeling so excited about being a teacher it makes me want to be a better educator. So, I ask the question: What is the purpose of meetings? If you are a person in charge of a meeting make sure that there is a purpose for the meeting. Make sure that the people in the meeting are provided with an inspirational motivator. Ensure that the purpose of the meeting is clear and that it is relevant. Meetings should leave the attendees feeling inspired and should not leave the attendees feeling as if their time was wasted. Think about what you can do to inspire others.
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Every year, I write a professional goal and a personal goal. This is a habit I have gotten into thanks to one of my former principals. Even when I was a teaching assistant she would have us write goals for the year. I have found this practice to be very important. Setting a goal for myself forces me to look ahead, to stay fresh, and to go out of my comfort zone a little bit. Last year, I had (along with a co-worker) set a professional goal to present at a conference. This year, we have achieved that goal. Yesterday, October 23, 2014 my colleague and I presented at a the 2014 WIDA National Conference. We presented to a packed room, they had to bring in extra chairs and even with that people were still shoulder to shoulder sitting on the floor. (We later learned people were turned away because it was too full!) Presenting at a conference is pretty exciting but the incredibly positive feedback we received has been so rewarding. Never would I have imagined that I would be a part of something so amazing. I am incredibly grateful to my colleague that she includes me in her ideas and encourages me to grow. Together we make a great team. I encourage you to reach beyond where you think you can reach. To set goals for yourself and when you achieve that goal set a new one. Do not ever stop achieving, dreaming, reaching.
I have always been attracted to quotes and sayings and if you follow me on Pinterest, you will know just how much I like quotes. Looking through various quotes on Pinterest the other day I came across this one, "People too often forget that it is your own choice how you want to spend the rest of your life." (Rachel Wolchin) This one has been rattling around in my brain ever since I read it. Especially since so many people I know are accepting their life right now and blaming their "bad fortune" on others. This quote reminds me that we are all in charge of our own life. We have the power to change it. We have the power to say this isn't good enough and then work towards making it so. Our life and how we live it is our choice. I do believe you can choose happiness. Sure, others may influence our life for a bit but, if they are not contributing in a positive manner towards your happiness it is up to you to make a change. Never settle for less than what you deserve. Find something that inspires you, something that reminds you that you deserve to live happy, and keep it near you always. Don't let yourself settle. Live, love, and be happy.
As I walk down the hall of school I hear a first grader throwing a full-blown tantrum. It got me thinking...what if it were socially acceptable for adults to throw fits in public? Now, I understand that it is not really socially acceptable for toddlers to throw fits in public but sometimes I think they may have the right idea. If I were a toddler I would have thrown about three tantrums already today. I found this little video that made me laugh. I hope it makes you laugh too! Have a great day!
Have you ever noticed that when you are in a hurry everything seems to go wrong. You catch every traffic light, the person in front of you in line needs a price check, the shirt you want to wear is missing a button, and so on. It is in these hectic moments that I sometimes find myself thinking, I wonder if God is trying to tell me something. There is a saying that I have seen a lot of lately and it is a quote by Stephen Covey, "Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply." As I was experiencing my variety of set-backs today this saying popped into my mind and I thought, I wonder what God is trying to tell me today. Perhaps I should be listening to all that is happening with the intent to understand what my purpose is for this day. Not racing around wondering why God is putting so many obstacles in my way. It is difficult to adapt to this way of thinking because it is not in my nature to slow down and think about the bigger picture. However, on the days that I do I find that I have a sense of peace and understanding that makes for less hectic moments.
When I realize I want to do something, I want that something to happen right away. It is not easy being patient for something to happen. I think about a goal I want to achieve and I want to achieve it immediately. I then spend so much time thinking about what I will do when I achieve that goal that I forget to enjoy the here and now. While it is important to have goals and work towards them, it is also important to enjoy the things life has to offer right now. I need to slow down while moving forward. I need to take time to appreciate where I am right now and not look past the amazing things happening in my life at this moment. I need to have patience with myself and allow for the transformations to take place. These are weaknesses that I know that I have, I guess the first step is recognizing that they exist with the second step being to make sure I take time each day to smell the roses. So, here I go off to enjoy the here and now and take time to smell the roses. I hope you do too!
Once again, I have been reminded just how short life can be. Too many young people are loosing their battles with cancer, heart disease, and random accidents. One day everything is fine, the next day loved ones are in shock over the loss of a young life. There is no rhyme or reason for this and there are truly no words to comfort the living.
This has left me pondering what we can do to honor the lives that have been taken too soon and I think that one way is to live while the living is good. Don't put off until tomorrow the things that can be enjoyed today! So often we get caught up in all the "have to's" that we don't get to our "want to's." We need to make sure that while we have this amazing gift of life that we live it to the fullest. We owe that much to all those who have left this Earth too early. One final thought, while we are living while the living is good we need to remember to let those important people in our lives know just how much we love them and appreciate them. (Today's message has been inspired by the sudden passing of a friend from high school and the passing of a fellow blogger. Once I can again locate the link to her last entry I will share it with you.)
Life is a precious gift. This is something that day-to-day living can cloud or even make us forget. My day started out quite hectic, I was feeling a little shaken up and just plain frustrated. Then as the day went on and I processed my feelings I began to think about my friend who teaches down the hall from me. Her one year old is going to have surgery next week to remove a mass from her torso. Just last year she was celebrating the birth of this precious perfect baby girl and now she is facing hearing one of the worst words a mother can hear. I don't even know how you begin to process something like that. Then there is the family of a fourteen year old girl who was stabbed to death a little over two years ago when she returned home from school and unknowingly walked into a robbery in progress. The trial began this week to prosecute the man alleged to be the murderer. How does one justify such a loss in their life? It is events like this that remind me that each day is truly special and just how what a precious gift life is. Please make sure to take time today to be thankful for the things that are happening in your life. You just never know when those things can suddenly be taken from you.
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Do you like what you have read? Do you know someone who will benefit from reading this blog? Feel free to share it.A bit about me:I am who I am thanks to God, my parents, my family, and my friends. My life is driven by faith. Oh, and I am a cancer survivor. Archives
February 2017
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