The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

School starts "officially" for me on Monday and YES it is the most wonderful time of the year because all kinds of things are possible. Last year I missed the first three days of school and I paid for it all year long. Sure I had a student teacher and I video-taped an introduction, but things just never felt right. One of my colleagues said the first three days are the best time to miss because "nothing happens". I could not disagree more!

So much for starting my blog off right this year........ I wrote the above paragraph back in August 2013 and it has been neglected ever since until this publication in July of 2014! It's been that kind of year. New computer system, more students, fewer resources - a hard year to be optimistic as a teacher here in North Carolina, but you have to be optimistic to continue to teach especially now.

Nevertheless, a small miracle occurs every summer.

I read, I daydream, I reflect on all of the things I love about science. It's not about daily lesson plans, managing student attitudes, dealing with administrative issues.... It becomes about why I want to teach..... why I want kids to learn to love the world around them the way I do..... how the quest for knowledge and understanding can be a beautiful part of life..... The Joy of Learning! That's what I want to communicate all year long, but it is mostly present those first few days of school when I am trying to convince students to trust me and follow me on a journey. The most wonderful time of year is when I can see these possibilities.

So, I think I am going to change the focus of this blog a bit. I am going to use this space to remind myself of the bigger picture as I read and reflect. I hope it will be more than a catalog of resources, but if that is all it becomes so be it. You who are reading this may find something useful (I hope so), but this is just my journey to become a better teacher.

There are two things I am currently struggling to put into my teaching practice. Emotion & Neuroscience. Connected, yes, but quite different. I think the neuroscience will be the easiest and I already do a bit with that. The emotion part stems from my long standing envy of language teachers. They get to read and discuss people's emotions, life purpose, personality traits..... all those things that are most important to teenagers. How do you do that in a biology classroom? I am currently reading The Priority List by David Menasche. This just reinforces my envy. The stories he tells about how he made an impact on student lives just puts me in AWE. I know the power & responsibility of my role as a teacher, but how do I leverage that into the positive outcome of empowering students to take charge of their lives and their learning? That is now my own focus for learning and hopefully this blog will help document my growth.