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| Who am I other than a "new teacher"? |
When I was asked by my colleague and friend to come camping with her in the summer to this thing she called Unplug’d up in Algonquin, I thought: awesome! I’m not very outdoorsy, but it sounds really cool! A whole bunch of people interested in being better educators than they already are? Sign me up. My husband thought I was nuts for a few reasons. First he said: You? Camping!? You’ve got to be kidding me. Then he said, “but you JUST finished teacher’s college and you haven’t even been hired yet! Why are YOU going? Isn’t this kind of thing a retreat for teachers to recuperate over the summer?” Yes, I suppose I am not mother-nature’s best girlfriend and the idea of pitching a tent or hiking are somewhat foreign to me, but his “new teacher” comment really got under my skin. “You don’t think I need to recuperate after the year of school I’ve just finished!?” and also, “I don’t think that’s the main idea of this trip, honey. Its bigger than that. The drive for these people coming together is not solely to get together to relax.”
After visiting the website for the Unplug’d community and speaking more about what the trip entailed, I couldn’t register fast enough. And now its upon us. Next Thursday I will be going to Toronto to begin this “life changing experience”. I am eagerly awaiting it. The countdown has begun!
So what IS my motive for going other than the sunrise yoga which I hear is pretty stellar? Well, its threefold, actually. 1. In the face of a highly competitive job market I need to be inspired and shaken into a more positive “I can do it!” mindset. 2. I already know from my limited experiences with team teaching, tweetups, blog collectives and group unit planning, that I grow and flourish when I’m connected to other passionate educators - AND I can officially call myself an educator now, so why not? 3. I truly believe that you can be a better educator if you nourish your PLN, and build relationships of support and cheerleading. What better way than to connect IN PERSON to other teachers, administrators, parents, trustees and, well, people for education in general, to discuss what matters most? Learning. This year we are going to share stories about education from a variety of perspectives and addressing a broad range of pressing issues. Maybe its risky to sign on for this trip and to come at it from a new teacher perspective. I don’t know. With great risk comes great reward, right? Oh, I hope so.
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