Saturday, November 5, 2016

What's in my teacher bag?

What is a teacher bag? To me it is a "bag of holding', or for you non-gamer's, a bag of endless crevices and pockets to store anything and everything. It contains the latest this and that, new technology or software, student work, lesson plans, makerspace materials, flexible seating, standing desks, even my classroom as it has evolved over time. It is a collective of the tangible and imaginable, the failures and successes, the enduring strategies and the current "flavor's of the month." It is important that it never be emptied because it encompasses every aspect of my teaching career and holds the reminders of where I have been as a learner and educator and where I am heading as a teacher.

It is a quiet place where I can meditate and reflect but also a bustling place where ideas are being generated. It is my storage place, my haven, my meeting place where great minds share ideas and innovations. I collaborate here with my team, colleagues, even people from around the world on Twitter, Voxer, Skype even Face Book. But also a diary and journal where I write my deepest fears and doubts. Where I face my insecurities and respond to naysayers. It is a place that travels with me through every season, even when in the heart of summer when my focus is being a mother and wife, enjoying my summer, it is there to jot down ideas for next year.

My teacher bag is not a container but a position that always puts students first, guides me to wherever I need to be to make that happen, and where I can find fulfillment as an educator. It is a safe place where no one but me ventures, where failure is welcoming and growth is inevitable. It is a thought, a feeling, a certainty that I am where I am supposed to be.

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