Written by It has now been almost three weeks since my first Face 2 Face session with Cohort 21, and I can honestly say that I am still in awe of the entire experience.
Like most people, when I drive, I listen to the radio. When I left The York School on Saturday afternoon and got in my car, I immediately had to turn off the music. It felt like my brain was in overdrive mode – it was swirling with thousands of thoughts and impressions of the day, and it desperately needed a break. I drove the whole hour-long drive back home in silence, and yet it didn’t feel like silence, as I simply could not shut my brain off.
As Garth and Justin went over some details about being a member of the Cohort, they mentioned the idea of taking what you can from the experience, a bit like drinking from a fire hose. I thought of this video of Dante, so overjoyed to find a lawn sprinkler, and lapping up every bit of delicious, cold water that he can:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fudn5iC8eEk[/youtube]
Like Dante drinking the water, I want to take as much from this experience as possible. I have an incredible opportunity to learn from some of the most dedicated and talented educators I’ve ever met, I am learning tools and ways of thinking that will make be a better teacher, and I am given a chance to really reflect on my practice, which is so often neglected in the day to day busyness of life at an independent school. As a case in point: it has taken me three weeks to write this blog post. Here’s to not taking three weeks for the next one!
Way to go Jennifer!! First post out the door and you are on your way. Thanks for the kind words. I know that @gnichols would agree when I say the third face to face session will be equally as engaging. Give some thought to your action plan over the next few weeks. You will have from Jan to April to put it into place to no rush. The thinking/refining is the best place to start. Judging from your post you have already done lots of that!
J
Hi Jennifer,
I echo @jmedved‘s comments! You’ve clearly got a great start here, and now it’s time to Design Think 🙂
What challenge/opportunity/question(s) are you currently experiencing in your classroom? How might we help/support you?
One way to start is to check the ideas of others in this cohort and those from previous years.
See you soon!
garth.
Hi Jennifer,
Love your first post! I couldn’t agree more with your first impression – I’ve been at this for three years now and I am always impressed at what C21 crew bring to the table. It’s the best PLC going, and it’ll be there for you from here on out so don’t hesitate to lean on others!
Have you started thinking about your action plan? If you have any questions, or just want to talk out loud and bounce ideas around, add them in the comments or on Twitter or join any of the upcoming hangouts which will be communicated soon!
Great to have you in C21, and looking forward to the journey!