1. I'm a scaffolding queen. I like to support people until they feel comfortable. I sometimes still find the balance to let them feel little uneasy and I have been known to kick them out of the nest sometimes before they think they're ready but never before I think they are ready. I think that's important for a tech coach but I also think I need to learn how to create a "catch and release" scenario sometimes. Teachers need opportunities to fail forward without my assistance so readily available. I think with many of the teachers I support it would cause us both to grow.
2. I find unknowns both exciting and overwhelming. Fortunately most of the time the exciting aspect of new endeavors that might benefit our students wins over the fact that I don't always feel equipped with time and talents before the fun begins. The perfectionist in me is learning to just move forward and grow. It seems this post is a self-assessment of my growth potential!
3. A full day of learning something new is overwhelmingly tiring, yet we expect the same attention to detail at 2:30 PM from our students as we do at 9 AM. The last two days I've learned new concepts regarding project-based learning and by the end of the day my brain was toast. I hope that I can remember that next year as I work with students. Brain breaks are important, movement is important, time to absorb new information, and opportunities to shut down and relax is important. There is no way I could have left those sessions and done any homework. Granted I have some pain issues going on but many of our students daily have outside issues going on as well. New concepts drain the brain, as teachers we need to be collaborating with each other to make sure we are not overwhelming our students each day with too many new concepts in multiple disciplines.
4. Learning is fun for me.
Number 3 is HUGE and one I think we often forget. Thanks for the reminder.
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