Thing 1: Reflections on Life Long Learning

Lifelong learning is a priority for me.  I’ve always been someone who is very curious, and I can’t wait to see how new ideas might impact my teaching and my life.  Because our world is changing at an amazing rate, it is important to continue to expand my knowledge. 

I would love to say that I always view problems as challenges, but I’m not always great at this.  When I am on my way to accomplishing a goal, and everything goes wrong, I sometimes allow the “challenge” part of the equation to go out the window.  This is something that I’m really working to improve.  I am trying to change my view by modeling this habit for my students.  I have to say that blogging and podcasting with my students has helped me in this area.  When something doesn’t work, we all look at it on the SmartBoard and talk about what we could try next.  Third graders love a challenge!

I think that the “play” aspect of this course will be the easiest part for me.  I am so much like my students when it comes to learning. I love to jump in and explore new ways of accomplishing goals.  I feel more engaged in my learning when I can problem-solve from a relaxed perspective.  The element of play takes away some of the anxiety about trying something new.  This is my favorite way to learn; however, it will be very important for me to stay focused on my goals.  Sometimes I get lost in having fun and forget what I’m trying to accomplish in the first place!

One of the most important aspects of this course will be for me to teach and mentor others.  That’s when the teacher in me comes out!  I know that if I teach someone else what I’ve learned, I will be invested in it.  This will help me to expand my community of lifelong learners.  We can each hold each other accountable for applying what we’ve learned.  We can also stick together when nothing seems to be working.  When my students first started blogging, I talked to every teacher I could find about how much it enhanced their learning, and I managed to get a few people excited about that.  I think of knowledge the same way I thought about my chocolate Easter Bunny when I was little.  My sister always saved hers for months in the refrigerator, nibbling a tiny bit of an ear at a time.  I opened mine as soon as I got it, and I shared it with everyone.  Maybe a silly analogy, but it works for me!

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