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“You’re going to hate me”, my boyfriend texts as he sends me a photo of four tickets to the ALCS Game 2, knowing full well I am unable to make the roadtrip to Cleveland thanks to a more important commitment. But what could be better than experiencing live playoff baseball, you ask? Why, it was the first face-to-face Cohort21 session of season 5, of course!
I have been following the Toronto Blue Jays closely this season, having missed only a handful of games due to other priorities, and was lucky to be able to attend Game 3 of the ALDS. And despite my love for this great game and a team near and dear to my heart, my excitement for developing my teaching practise is even greater. There are few things that get my heart and mind racing with endless possibilities quite like awesome PD. The opportunity to “geek out” with like-minded people, integrating exciting tech tools with design-thinking seems like something I can really get behind.
After my first F2F session, I have so many questions and ideas knocking around in my brain, I feel invigorated. I wonder how I will use this blog to best express my thoughts and feelings towards this process at Cohort21. I wonder what aspect of my teaching I will choose to focus my action plan on. I wonder how I will share my learning with my colleagues without overwhelming their already hectic lives. I love thinking about the possibilities for professional learning that will help create even more of an inviting and invigorating classroom environment for the boys I teach.
I think today was the beginning of a brand new ballgame for me – one in which I learn from the expertise of passionate, engaged educators and apply my learning directly into my every day work. I’m ready to knock this year out of the park!
Holy smokes, Mackenzie! You missed a road trip to Cleveland for the ALDS for Cohort 21?!? That is commitment! I am seriously impressed.
I am so glad to hear that your first C21 F2F experience rivalled a Blue Jays playoff game – it can certainly feel as exciting as one! And it’s only going to get better from here!
Looking forward to being a part of your learning journey this year; see you in November!
Jen
Wow! Out of the gate with a great reflection already. Mackenzie thanks for taking a step and leading through risk taking. I also love the base ball analogy throughout. So glad you found today valuable. @gnichols
I would have totally understood if you choose that ballgame – I’m a big Jays fan as well… I have tix for Game 3 🙂
I think this metaphor is a great one for a couple of reasons. A ballgame has so many different players, strategies and moving parts – and you’ve named a couple of these that in play at Cohort 21. We hope that you find bases, get support from your dugout and bullpen, and end up hitting a homerun! But also know, there are slumps to be expected, highs and lows (but we hope no injures :)), but ultimately we do it for the love of the game!
Great to meet you, and I look forward to more of your thoughts,
garth.
Awesome post, Mackenzie!
I love hearing you talk about being invigorated by possibility–I think it’s key to keeping ourselves in-it-to-win-it, education-wise! I also dig the metaphor – as a strike out is just a chance to learn more so the next hit goes even farther into the crowd! 🙂 Can’t wait to read about your next ‘at bat’!
Mackenzie,
You clearly have the writing down! Your ability to express your thinking, make connections to real-life by using captivating analogies and how you framed your reflective questions are all keys to success in the blogging world. Well done! I am not going to try and make another baseball connection because well frankly I am not that clever; I’ll save that for the pros. Keep making your thinking visible!
Welcome to the teacher-nerd squad! I love that you are already concerned about overwhelming your colleagues – it is actually something to watch out for, and one reason it’s great to be part of this network. You can’t overdo the enthusiasm at a F2F, then be your normal teacher self back at school!