Day 1: Washington DC

My first day in DC has been great. We started off at the Smithsonian, at which point we were separated into groups that went to different museums. My group, which went to the Museum of American Art, spent most of our time at the Alexis Rockman exhibit, observing and discussing. It was wonderful seeing this amazing art and being able to just talk about it and explore how we could use his art in the classroom. If you have never seen his work, you should check it out at his official site. His work has this feel of botanical and scientific drawings, but they carry a social message regarding our consumption patterns and our destruction of our own ecosystem.

My favorite called Golf Course is not available on his site, but I also really liked the one with the cows here. It addresses our need to bioengineer our food and the consequences of that should it go unchecked.

After the Smithsonian, we headed off to the Biden residence, where we attended a reception hosted by Jill Biden, who was incredibly warm and friendly and welcoming. She took care to meet each of us personally; then she addressed the whole group, during which time she focused on the role teachers play in students' lives and particularly addressed the needs of military children.

We headed back to the hotel. Since we had a free evening, I was glad to spend that time with my mom. We walked around, bought some books for my kids, and ate a meat and cheese tray for dinner at an Italian restaurant.

Tomorrow we head to the White House for the National Teacher of the Year introduction. After that, my mom and I get a tour of the Capital by some Reid staff and then have a meeting with Reid himself.

Iwill try to update tomorrow.

Resting in Inconvenience and the Uncomfortable

My friend Terri and I have been reading about equanimity together. We have read from both Donald Rothberg's book and Shaila Catherine's book. Both authors give the assignment to rest in the moments of inconvenience and discomfort. At the dentist's office this week, I had a lot of opportunity to practice equanimity in this way.


Next week I will be in DC for one of the State Teacher of the Year meetings. While the entire concept of the trip is exciting, it is also very nerve-wracking. Meetings with the president, with Senator Reid, and with Mrs. Biden all sound exciting while also completely terrifying. The trip also means a week away from my kids and my classroom - the two loves of my life.



Some of the trip will be engaging and fun without the terrifying: a black-tie dinner, a tour of the monuments, training on my new SMART board, and participating in two round-table discussions, one hosted by the Department of Education and the other by NASA with the Smithsonian. Plus, my mom is going with me, and I am looking forward to spending some one-on-one time with her.

Now that my departure date is less than a week away, my first instinct is to just forget the trip, stay home, play with my kids, and teach. But I can't do that. The trip is paid for, and these opportunities will not present themselves in my lifetime again. And I want to go. In a hand-wringing, stomach-fluttering sort of way.

So it occurred to me that this trip is going to provide lots of fodder for my equanimity practice. There will be lots of moments of inconvenience (waiting for the president, talking to aides in place of the senator, and lots of public transportation) and moments of discomfort (trying to compose myself around people I normally see only on CNN, feeling out of place amongst people I don't know, and trying to find my way around).

Instead of looking at this trip with dread, I have decided to see it as an opportunity to grow both in my profession and my practice. My goal is to rest in those moments of inconvenience and discomfort; to remember that suffering is either clinging, aversion, or delusion; and to simply be at ease with not being at ease. In the meantime, I hope to learn a lot and to make an impression, tiny as it may be, on those who make education policy.

I hope to post pictures next week. Cheers!

Signs of Spring

*sigh*

I think there are many who would agree with me that spring is overdue, so I thought I would share a few signs of spring today to balance out the furthered sombre mood after the sad news again today. This school year has brought a great amount of grief to those around me, and as spring appears, I can't help but be reminded of the ever-changing vicissitudes of life. Let us all remember that life is fragile and to appreciate the present moment.

A Moment in Time

This is not the image I see from where I sit. I am in bed with my daughter sleeping, head nuzzled up against me. My alarm clock is set, and the time reads 9:21. From where I sit, I see a cluttered dresser, a made bed, last week's issue of Newsweek with Academy Award nominees on the cover, all dressed in black. At this moment I am happy.

"We don't complain; we investigage."

As you may know, I just returned from the conference for all the state Teachers of the Year (STOYs). The organizers centered content around how to be a voice for the educational community. John Quam, the organizer for the national teacher of the year program, started off by telling us we were not the best teachers: we represent the best teachers. This nicely encapsulated the role of the STOY.

One morning, I was listening to a podcast by Gil Fronsdale, who said, "In mindfulness practice, we don't complain; we investigate." And although Gil directed his comment toward meditators, it perfectly applied to my week. We spent the week thinking about problems in education, not complaining about them. We brainstormed solutions, not grievances. We discussed developing messages, not attacking them. It was exciting and energizing and somewhat overwhelming too.

And I so wish that I could have had my colleagues with me. My colleagues, especially those in the Language Arts Department, are folks who discuss these issues all the time. I wanted them there so that I could get their thoughts on the issues at hand - reauthorizing of ESEA, for example, or establishing a method of teacher accountability and evaluation. I realized very quickly how lucky I am to work with teachers who see themselves as professionals, which often means tackling larger issues as well as being many things, including lobbyist and PR rep.

Now that the Dallas conference is over, I can start planning my year. I will soon be blogging about my issues, but I am curious as to what issues you see as priority educational topics. Thoughts?

I love this picture I took in Death Valley years ago. There is something quite beautiful in the desert, something unique. There is beauty in the rugged edges of the desert and the tenacity of life in such a harsh environment.

Currently, I am spending my time in a different desert state - Texas - though I head home Sunday morning. I am here for the State Teachers of the Year conference where we learn what the role entails. Who knew the position was actually a job in itself. In fact, some teachers go on sabbatical for the year. The role in Nevada is not nearly so intense, but it will mean seeking out speaking engagements. Here in Texas, we have spent time working on and crafting our individual messages, which I will share with you at a later date when mine is more . . . well . . . crafted. So stay tuned.


In the meantime, I will cover a couple Reverb prompts:

Beyond Avoidance. What should you have done this year but didn’t because you were too scared, worried, unsure, busy or otherwise deterred from doing? (Bonus: Will you do it?) (Author: Jake Nickell)

I had planned on a residential retreat this last summer. I particularly wanted one through either Spirit Rock or Mountain Stream. The only five-day retreat that worked with my schedule was one by Donald Rothberg (yay!) for Jews (oh.). I could have looked harder and for ones farther away, but I didn't. This year, I will be gone four weeks out of the year, so I doubt I will commit to a reatreat, but I am hoping to do one in 2012. It's cool that our sangha has been hosting some and in such a wonderful location (Tahoe), but because they have all been during the school year, I haven't been able to attend.

Future Self. Imagine yourself five years from now. What advice would you give your current self for the year ahead? (Author: Jenny Blake)

It's difficult to answer this question, though I will take a shot anyway: I think I would say to myself Remember equanimity and that there is a lot of wisdom in the advice to not take things personally. I know the next year will be different for me in that I will need to leave my shell of introversion to meet others. Although this is no small task for a shy person, I know it will be good for me, and I know that relaxing into situations and not taking things personally will make the whole process smoother and more rewarding.

This is particularly poignant for me because I have spent the last five days feeling like a middle school student at lunch on the first day of school, trying to find where I fit in. In that way, it has at times been both awkward and very good for me.

I don't know what it is about this blog, but I feel like it has become much too heavy in its focus. I will brainstorm ways to lighten things up. In the meantime, here's joke for y'all: Why did the dinasauer cross the monkey bars?

Wait for it . . . .

Because he wanted to get to the other slide.

Teehee.

A few more prompts

Next prompt:  Try. What do you want to try next year? Is there something you wanted to try in 2010? What happened when you did / didn’t go for it? (Author: Kaileen Elise)


For 2010 I wanted to try a picture a day for a year. I made it all the way through August, but then I could not stomach the idea of sitting in front of a computer and editing and uploading pictures. With an online master's, your participation and even your textbook reading all take place online. I got really sick of the computer. But I do not regret my decision to stop the project. There will be other opportunities.

For 2011, I want to try to simplify my life. That's why I put the photo of the stop sign up: I want to remember to STOP and think before I act, to stop buying and to stop taking on extra responsibilities.


I am ready for this - I spent the last month not shopping at all, and I have truly enjoyed it. I can honestly say that this time around, I did not feel the urge to buy anything. In the past, I limited my purpose to environmental issues mostly, so I could buy digital items and services. This time, I looked at environmental issues, financial benefits, and attachement issues. I found it refreshing to not buy anything but groceries. I didn't even miss the almost daily latte and have instead learned to appreciate a good cup of loose leaf tea. And I appreciated more of my attentions being diverted from things to activities and people.

Partly what helped make this easy for me is that my husband decided to join me this time around. Having the most important people in your life onboard with these kinds of decisions is so incredibly helpful.

Another thing I want to try in 2011 is a residential retreat. I am not sure I will be able to fit it in with all the other traveling I have scheduled, but I am certainly going to look into it.

Healing. What healed you this year? Was it sudden, or a drip-by-drip evolution? How would you like to be healed in 2011? (Author: Leonie Allan)


I had some great down time this summer. Reading especially helped heal me. Because I read so much for work, it was especially nice to revisit the concept of pleasure reading. I read Shantaram, which I loved, as well as some cheesy mysteries. For my trip to Dallas, I am taking The Book Thief. I am terrified of flying, which is always allayed by a good, gripping read.

This "healing" was a slow process, but as the summer unfolded, I become more enthusiastic about everything.

For 2011, I would like to be energized by my travels and by having some free time. As I mentioned before, I am putting my master's on hold starting in a few weeks, and because I am no longer department chair, I have less work to carry home at night. Consequently, I hope to have some more time to play - to hang out with my kids, to cook, to read, to craft, and to meditate.