Days 60 & 61

Tuesday and Wednesday, May 12 & 13, 2020

I am so so very fortunate to work where I do. Teachers are loved. We are celebrated. Today I was finally able to get out to one of our Superintendent's invitations for drive-through food. I got pancakes at what the locals call "Mr. A's." I was able to see our former principal and a few other administrators from the district office.

 

And before I knew it... they disappeared!

It's weird, because I had it planned for almost a week, and the morning of, I just felt sick to my stomach for a few minutes, thinking that I was actually going. I have no clue why I felt that way, so when I was in the shower I rationalized my thoughts and my stomach issues left me. I got in the car before I could think about it again. And it was all FINE. I don't know why I was anxious about it. It made me wonder - if someone who's pretty "with it" right now and has a pretty solid head on her shoulder has these moments of anxiety, what about those kids whose normal response is anxiety??

After checking and responding to work emails, a different part of my day started online at 9am with the #GHVS2020 - the Genius Hour Virtual Summit that Andi McNair put together on the fly last week. We were a panel of passionate educators who had all written (and got published!) about genius hour. The panel was SO fulfilling to me. I felt like I was with my tribe once again. I felt needed. I felt valued. We held it via a Zoom webinar, so there were 100 people with us, and the other 300 or so who registered would get the recordings.

Here is my session:
     Genius Hour: Student Reluctance or Resistance

I'll upload the others here when I get them. :)

We also had a staff meeting Tuesday - those are always interesting... I then had my evaluation, and it was very nice. I kind of felt that I was in his office... ? 

Today I was so motivated to work on my own genius hour project for the Seniors. I cranked out a lot more cards, and I did a ton of little things that will help the project progress (see my other blog soon for that update). Checking in on my own students' progress on their projects was a blast, as well, today.

What's been with me the last two days is a feeling of value. Sharing about my passion once again (it's been awhile!) gave me a boost I didn't know I was missing. I haven't presented in a long while, and even though I was basically talking to my computer for my session, I was able to share things I hadn't shared in quite awhile. It brought that need back for me - to share my passions. I don't know how this will translate, but I've got the bug again.