Challenge Accepted – Day 10

Five random facts about me:

• I am somewhat of a planner, my husband might call me Type A … Seriously, don’t laugh and agree with him 🙂
• My favorite sport has been water skiing since about age 8 – nothing beats flying over water at 34 mph on one ski
• I definitely lean towards the adventurous side
• I love my job… my family would say I work too much
• I have to limit my reading for enjoyment as good character driven novels will keep me up until 3 am no matter how tired I am. I want, correction NEED, to know what happens next…

Four bucket list items:

• African safari (before the boys go to college)
• Spend a month travelling in Italy and Greece with my husband
• Live on a white sand beach where I can see and hear the ocean every day 
• Continue to enjoy each stage of life with my kids (I don’t believe in regrets)

Three things I hope for this year as an educator: 

• We will see more innovative learning experiences for kids in education.
• Adults will really look at students and realize that these are the people we work for, why we get up in the morning, why we can NOT continue to hear “no” when it comes to systemic and sustainable change.
• Educators will make it a priority to connect with others and eliminate silos that are still prevalent in the system.

Two things that made you laugh or cry as an educator:

• Experiencing a funeral where an accident took students away from families impossibly early. As a parent, I reflect on those moments years ago and my heart continues to break for them knowing you never really survive that kind of loss.
• Now that I have stepped out of the classroom and away from coaching, I miss the laughter that was ever present. I fondly remember countless Saturdays at volleyball tournaments, sitting on the floor just talking and laughing with the team. I’m lucky to have had those connections.   

One thing you wish people knew about you:

• I feel most alive when I’m learning something and thus I can’t shut my brain off.  I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks!  

**This post is in response to “Reflecting Teaching: A 30-Day Blogging Challenge For Teachers.”

(Thanks Matthew Krohne, I just stole your ending line! I figured you wouldn’t mind – haha)