Continuing with Reverb

I am continuing with my Reverb 2011. I am not trying to "catch up" because I am learning the pleasure of enjoying the process and not obsessing with a finish line. I may not complete another Reverb 2011 post, and that's okay.Then again, I may finish it by the end of the day tomorrow. No goals, no objective, just settling into what happens.

So, on to it.

Prompt #6: What was most difficult about 2011?

Definitely the family illness. My heart is broken. I am sad. That's all I really have to say about it right now.

Prompt #7: What lessons did you learn?

I like this question because I usually write about experiences as they happen; however, the real lesson often waits to reveal itself until the experience is over.

In 2011, I learned I do have a voice about education, not just as a teacher of the year, but as a teacher within my own community and my own school.

I learned that it is okay to experience moments of joy even when others are suffering.

I learned that educators at the national level who are making policy, developing standards, and establishing the tenor of the broader discussions regarding education are often condescending toward educators and completely niave to what actually happens in schools. I also learned that they really don't want to hear what educators, even a roomful of state teachers of the year, have to say about how to improve education. This realiziation was one of the more frustrating parts of this year.

I learned that life is unpredictable and at times fragile and that any one of us could die tomorrow. Intellectually, I always understood this to be true, but understanding it at a deeper level is a different story.

On a more superficial level, I learned how to better operate my SMARTboard, how to create mini books with damaged hardbound novels and jump rings, how to use Poll Anywhere as a teaching device, how to use use a blog reader on my phone, and how to more effectively train a dog.

Prompt #8: When were you proud?

When my son started to read.

When I read my daughter's stories. For an eight-year-old, she is incredibly creative and sophisticated.

When I left space camp.

When my vice principal stood up in front of the staff and lauded our efforts,

When the staff came together to study data and reseach ways to improve our school.

When my husband won the chili cookoff at school.

Prompt #9: Who or what inspired you?

My friends in Dharma Zephyr always inspire me to live more wisely and ethically and to study the Dharma.

My TOY classmates inspired me, as did my husband and Milton Chen, to be a better teacher, to think about creative ways to balance rigor, appropriate curriculum, and engagement strategies.

Every single day, my children and my students inspire me to find ways to be a better person, to be more compassionate.

Prompt #10: How do you fill the void?

What void?