July 26, 2024 – Reflecting on the Term

July is almost over and I have been in an unusual frame of mind over the last week. Time is flying by and one way for me to ground myself to slow down or start up, I like to blog. I enjoy blogging even though I started to blog after leaving teaching to practice writing and reflecting. My earlier posts on my other WordPress site were short and I spent a lot of time overthinking about what I said. When my other site was experiencing some issues during the pandemic (i.e., two step authentication), I blogged on my iPad/bluetooth keyboard for awhile. Overtime, I just had to write. Now, I’m maintaining two blogs and I’ve regained access to my other website. And, I find myself just writing most of the time, with less editing and overthinking. LOL.

Admittedly, I’ve grown to love blogging and I just spent the last hour or so adding recent photos to pages on this site. I can see the value of revisiting some of my pages and updating some of the content. It’s also an opportunity for me to reflect on my work and practice. Instead of just ploughing through the day, month, year in my work, this “slowing down” to reflect on my work, not just the day or week, I am filled with gratitude, humility, and pride. I don’t know why I minimize what I do. I love to try new ideas and and reflect on what I do. It’s never “perfect” because I like to change things up from year to year and from course to course. I would encourage teacher candidates to keep playing. Learning is where the joy is. 🙂

Much like the image above, do what you LOVE. Nothing beat a hotel breakfast… at a hotel. It’s one of my most favourite things to do. this image is taken in Montréal when I went to Congress 2024 to present at CATE, CAARE, and OTESSA (PS. sorry for the acronyms). I love going to conferences. I love to present. And, I love the hotel breakfast. I am learning that I am engaged in the “Scholarship of Teaching” and that I should approach my academic writing much like I do with blogging. I do spend too much time overthinking and editing while writing. As a result, not much is getting done. Is there such a thing as scholarship-efficacy like teacher efficacy? My non-teaching term is the best time to get reading, writing, and research done.

For tonight, I will return to reviewing portfolios from my EDUC 405 class. This year will be the last offering of portfolios and the course will emphasize inquiry. Moreover, the course will be taught by another faculty member with this change. If anything, I am going to savour and make the most of portfolios in EDUC 405. The teacher candidates, so far, are meeting or exceeding expectations. The course ends in December 2024, so all of my feedback and student progress are formative. I am so proud of the work that is being produced so far and I recognize that each person will complete the course with personalized outcomes. Ideally, they are making a DIGITAL NARRATIVE of their pedagogical journey in the program. 🙂

((Ahhh… I’m back in the zone. Yay!! Feels great. I’m going to update my website first.))