Saturday, April 22, 2017

Personalized PD - A Renewed Committment

I might just be on a blogging streak.. 2 posts in one day! :)

Years ago, I was extremely active in the #MTBoS. I blogged regularly and was an active contributor on Twitter. I spear-headed the #Made4Math challenge and actively participated and coordinated many Twitter chats and book clubs.

But then, life happened.

Three of the past 4 years, I've had a new prep - and all of them have had their own challenges and struggles. This year, it's pre-calculus and while I am so blessed to have amazing students that I adore, I will be the first to admit that I'm not enjoying the curriculum due to its disjointed nature. The daily struggles and challenges have created a situation where I have pushed away from the MTBoS world and broke ties with people I used to converse with daily. Sometimes change is good - sometimes it bites you in the rear.

For me, it was the latter. As a result of my self-isolation, I have lost a richness in my life that I miss. I miss having people to reach out to to share ideas, triumphs, and frustrations. The #MTBoS has moved well beyond me and I am standing still, just watching their plume of dust in the distance. I'm not sad that I was left behind, but I am sad that I chose to stand still instead of continuing forward, even if I was moving at a snail's pace.

So I am making a public commitment to move forward - to stop standing still. I don't like being stagnant. I don't like the lack of personal growth that I have experienced.

My goals:

  • Engage in Twitter at least once per week.  This may be an organized chat or just informal, but I need the mental stimulation that comes with working with other #MTBoS teachers
  • Read more blog posts.  I miss the excitement that I get from reading about a really cool idea from a follow teacher.  I need to update my blog roll and blog reader and find new bloggers that are sharing the awesome and not-so-awesome days in their classroom.  
  • Blog.  I need to be vulnerable and allow myself to share those same days.  
  • Read professionally.  I love summer and the opportunity to read books that challenge my thinking.  This year, after struggling so much, I think my focus needs to turn back to formative assessment and pedagogy because those are things I definitely let slide this year
I know this is ambitious and I need your help.  I need an accountability partner (or 2 or 10) to make sure I stay on this path.  If you are willing, please leave a comment or tweet me :)

5 comments:

Ladsit said...

This is great stuff and I'm beyond thrilled to see you blogging again. I always am inspired by your thoughts, musing and insights!! And I love to steal your activities...they are always amazing and well vetted. Thanks so much.

I like your list of 4 things alot and plan to steal them for myself.
1. I have already been back on Twitter and trying to keep up with conversations, and rather than twitter "lurking" I've been trying to add my two cents.
2. I have been going back to my favorite and most inspirational blogs, like yours, this past month. It's been discouraging when the blog is discontinued or hasn't been added to in months...I find I begin to lose interest in visiting. Vicious circle: Don't blog-no feedback-why blog-no feedback...
3. I may try to blog again. Although I found it so valuable for my personal growth and reflection, I was also discouraging when there was no feedback for a whole year...ha ha ha...I'm not a great self-promoter. Weekends always make me feel ambitious about my time, but I do want to get back to blogging. I will try to begin again if you do
4. Summer reading is a blessing. I need to start my list now!!

Thanks again for your inspiration!!

Sarah Carter (@mathequalslove) said...

So happy to come home from having lunch with my parents to find your TWO posts! I'm very happy to serve as an accountability partner because I need accountability, too. I haven't had much trouble keeping up with writing block posts, but I feel like my professional development has been lacking lately. Teaching almost all freshmen this year has really tested my classroom management skills, and I feel like I'm using all my energy on that instead of improving my actual teaching skills.

We all have so much to learn from others.

Amy Gruen said...

I see a lot of myself In this post! You have inspired me today to at least think about my own goals for being part of this community into the future. Perhaps a blog post around the corner? Maybe I will start there. I won't volunteer to be your accountability partner because I suspect that I would fail miserably. But I am hopeful that our digital paths will cross more frequently in the future!

Amy and Bryan said...

I'll be teaching Pre-Calc for the first time next year. Freshman Algebra, AP Stats, and Pre-Calculus. Looking forward to it, but also nervous.

Amy and Bryan said...

To add I've felt flat this year. Could be that I have an 11 month and home and have just felt stretched thin. Teaching my trig course I've felt flat so looking forward to something new next year.