Why We Should All Unplug
People with passion change the world - @jjash, written on a piece of tree struck by lightning at the edge, and given to me...
Having arrived back at home after a soul-stirring weekend with 39 fellow educators up at Northern Edge Algonquin for Unplug’d 12; I sit and marinate on the weekend’s experiences. Inside, I feel calm and centered, odd adjectives to describe me, a person who is usually antsy and anxious. No, I haven’t taken up meditation or even yoga, and no I haven’t cut out the 4 cups of coffee I enjoy a day, but I have built some pretty solid relationships and set the ground work for many others with a most inspiring set of passionate individuals. People who care a lot about education, and who opened up to me, in extremely brave and powerful ways this past weekend. I won’t go into great detail about each experience planned for us over the 3-day retreat, but I will try to capture some sketches of the zeitgeist of the thing for those who haven’t been (yet!)
Why you should make a point to Unplug:
- connect to nature (the locale is extraordinary - quiet, serene and peaceful), and yourself (numerous solitary retreats and activities exist to steal away and just ruminate), then connect to others in a deeper way to strengthen your practices, broaden your perspectives and go deeper into your role as a lifelong learner.
- create a written piece to help explore, question, thank, apologize or celebrate a significant person in your life as a learner
- collaborate on an e-book with individuals from a broad range of backgrounds, experiences, outlooks and places through a unique peer-review process which is both frightening and mind expanding
- hear a loon, smell some moss, see the lake ripple, see some stars twinkle and shoot across the night sky, hike a trail to a hidden lake, plant an apple tree, stretch your muscles and your mind, open your heart, eat together (food that will BLOW YOUR MIND) and sleep - dreaming of the change you’ll be sure to make now that you’ve been to The Edge.
Thank you to: Zoe, Rodd, Kelly-Ann, Ben, Jowi, Erin, James, Lisa, Brenda, Bryan, David, Lorna, Jenny, Jess, Jessica, Heidi, Kathy, Andrew, Karen, GNA, Alan, Rob, Rod, Jenny, Marci, Gail, Todd, Martha, Iain, Jackie, Giulia, Gill, Guilliaume, Wes, Betsy, Aerin, Danika, Kim, Donna and Matt, all for your earnest reflections, smiles, jokes and encouragement.
3 comments:
Michelle I feel so fortunate to have met you and to have been one of your two roommates. Your future students will be so lucky to have such a passionated connected educator as their teacher. Never under estimate the power you have to inspire others. You most definitely inspire me. Lots of love, Karen
Aww! Karen thank you! I feel so lucky to have met you as well - I wish we lived in B.C. so that Charlie could have you as his Grade 1 teacher when he starts school, but even though we are in Ontario, your contributions to your blog and to other teachers will hopefully impact the person who does end up teaching Charlie one day. Keep up all the good work. You rock! xo Mich
Michelle,
Most pleased to read that you participated in this year's Unplugg'd. We do need to occasionally disconnect from all this technology and recharge our inner clocks and revive our face-to-face connections.During this past summer, I made a conscious effort to deliberately distance myself from all my electronic devices. I found it rather liberating! I found myself not really missing them at all. What was disconcerting was the incredible number of correspondences that awaited me once I did get back on line.
I know that you have widened your professional circle with these rich connections that you forged. All in all, you gained on many levels. Bravo!
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