#RuralEdChat Archive
#RuralEdChat is a chat that focuses on the needs of the rural educator. This chat has been revised by Tammy Neil (@MathNeil), John Martin (@edventures) and Natalee Stotz (@nataleestotz).
Tuesday May 31, 2016
I'm tonight’s host, John Martin out of NH's Ossipee Mountains. As a vet, this past weekend was full of remembrances.
Hi Thank you for hosting and thank you for your service . Can you share a little more about it?
Hello, I'm thankful that is leading us tonight. Thank you, John for your service.
I joined the in '89 at the close of the Cold War. Spent 6 years as a cryptologist, shhhh! ;)
So, who has joined in on our chat this evening? I'm looking forward to reconnecting w/ friends old and new!
After I got out, I spent another 3 years as a member of the 3/172nd Mountain Infantry in the .
Secret is totally safe here at ;)
I won't tell a soul. Promise.
Hi, . Bill from in Western Mass. We're graduated, w/all paperwork turned in. Two more days of meetings and summer!
Hi Bill! Congrats on another beautiful year!
Hey, Bill! We finish up on Thursday with the kids. Monday is our last day of post planning.
Uibol zpv gps zpvs tfsxjdf!
now we have a chat unlike any other
Thanks! Still in student withdrawal, to tell the truth.
Summer is *this* close. :-)
yes. we miss our grad class already. one stopped back for a book and made my day.
Hmm, looks like a shift cipher!
A1: I have several. The student that discovered the joy of sketchnotes, the Ss that gave their time for Relay 4 Live.
Hmm. Could be. I mean, Dpvme cf!
okay can we remember tonight but also do a first ever ??
A1: Too many to name. I work with new teachers and I love the "break throughs" that happen all year.
A1 "A" cherished memory? Hmm. Maybe the Spring Family Weekend Performance. All four groups peaked and were Totally. Awesome.
A1 One of our library team members started a volunteer program w/in our library & it further humanizes our space.
A1 But, cheating, I also want to mention Humanities 7 conversations on race, privilege, and intersectionality.
Hi Kelly! That's awesome. Visible growth & AHA! moments in becoming...beautiful.
. Don't you love it when all the pieces fall into place?
It involved that student, but on piano. The was in the Spring Informal Concert in May.
. To be a fly on the wall!
A1 I kind of want to cheat & add in our cooking team's Harvest Challenge competition. Team really became cohesive @ key point.
I do. Especially when three of them were "Senior songs," chosen and led by the kids.
A1: I also loved the Google Training I got to do for one of our PD days. Almost our entire campus had a blast.
They were amazing - I know some adults who would do well to follow their example.
. Those are the moments when you feel all that energy and commitment was worth every second!
And what about your kiddos and that cool event they attended with their projects? I remember those smiles.
I certainly would have! :-)
This has been an amazing year. So many memories. I'm grateful for every one of them.
exactly. and nothing feels like a job joy, flow, engagement and community. the best.
I always appreciate that about you, Tammy. The presence & gratitude you have in your work. Essential and noticed!
Absolutely. https://t.co/1C0oQqkmF1
exactly. and nothing feels like a job joy, flow, engagement and community. the best.
. Flow. A great book by Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi!
A2: I need to remember the frustration my Ss felt as we moved toward student centered instruction & ownership.
Agreed! Maybe a Summer Reading Challenge choice for anyone who will join us for that?
A2 What happened before the part you member, ie., the real trigger. (sorry I'm late tonight)
A2 I think my own personal biggest lesson was that change can sometimes come more quickly than you think possible.
And how! Those waves and ebbs and flows of change. So key to expect and respond as part of the process.
A late Linda is better than no Linda at all. Glad you made it.
It's definitely a transition welcomed by some, feared by others, and everything in between. Irons out steadily.
. That is perhaps the single greatest hurdle for Ss to leap, from direction to self-determination.
Hi Linda! We are glad you are here no matter what time!
Good to see you here! I was missing you.
That's interesting. Can you or would you say more? (or not...it's a beautiful thought to contemplate as is)
Great point by - every memory has a launch point, a trigger that brought it to life. https://t.co/OPqLcUVnPN
A2 What happened before the part you member, ie., the real trigger. (sorry I'm late tonight)
Part of the difficulty is learning to trust themselves rather than relying on outside judgment. Worth it.
Hello to all in the group from central Wisconsin
. Every. Painful. Step. !!!
A2: Remember to tread lightly and use your words for kindness. If you do that - everything else is icing on the cake.
My apologies. I went to buy milk, picked up a newspaper, and whoops! 20 minutes past time for
Basically, my school is bringing ever more nuance to discussions on gender & racial diversity, and assessment.
Just to put an early plug in, is looking for thoughts on a book to read for our summer . Thoughts?
Yes, but the responses I got from the EOY survey says they now prefer it. :-) Worth it.
Howdy, Pol! So glad you are here and thank you for your service for our country, too!
Fiction? Non-fiction? Poetry? All of the above? https://t.co/LoM2Jc7SRD
Just to put an early plug in, is looking for thoughts on a book to read for our summer . Thoughts?
All of the above! We'll edcamp it with participants' ideas!
Q3: If one way to honor the past is to create a worthy life for ourselves, how have we done so? https://t.co/JBCFTmHMvH
. Hmm, hadn't thought about anything other than PD type books. Love a good sci fi! Maybe a read?
. The thought is that we would break the reading down over a period of time and chat on specific ideas thru
a summer book chat sounds like fun.
A3 That's one of the things I want so very much to do that it always feels I'm falling short. https://t.co/MDBZkRxBHJ
Q3: If one way to honor the past is to create a worthy life for ourselves, how have we done so? https://t.co/JBCFTmHMvH
. Last year I ran a 4 week book chat on through my chat. It was well attended.
./ Seriously? With everything you've shared tonight? I think you've set the bar pretty high!
Q3 cont'd: How do we share this story with our Ss?
I think part of living a worthy life might include creating space for others. I think you do this, Bill.
What about the book on Hacking Assessment? Maybe she could even join us in our book chat?!
A3: I think we create a worthy life when we put our own egos aside to show support/caring for others.
. I bet we could convince our friend & maybe even to jump in on that!
Thank you both. I appreciate your support and kindness.
A3: We share this with our students by sharing their stories. Showing how amazing they are.
A3. heavy question. What makes a worthy life is what you do when life is undramatic.
Honestly I look to folks like yourself for inspiration & example.
Hear, hear. https://t.co/B6sjy52D5y
A3: I think we create a worthy life when we put our own egos aside to show support/caring for others.
. Interesting, I was saying a similar thing to my cadets the other day. While the big things are exciting, 1/2
I love this, Linda. It's presence and pushing on through the mundane, noticing the gifts and beauty in that.
A3 cont'd: Sometimes, they'll ask me, and I answer honestly. I also blog regularly for my school.
. it's how you handle the small, every day, mundane things that show your character. 2/2
I don't think I've ever jinxed on that word. Word! Also
Tonight we start our summer schedule. is going to every 2 weeks until August.
A4: My Dad. That's a big part of who he was.
A3: An apology to students when I mess up -- as public as the mess up
A4: My Dad. That's a big part of who he was.
A4: I nominate & when it comes to this!
A4 My colleague Karen Suchenski, who was awarded the faculty appreciation prize by Student Council this year.
John, you are so kind. Thank you. That means so much. I agree. Bill this is you!
Apparently, it is both of us. :-) Thank you, !
Couldn't agree more. They make the world a better place for others.
A4b She is surrogate mom, amazing advisor to Community Service Club, brilliant and engaging teacher, warm and caring person.
. I honor those who give w/o expectation of receiving something back while remembering those who helped them.
A woman who was my parents' age is my model for befriending.
A5: A choice made 5 years ago to leave a toxic work environment for the unknown. Best decision I ever made.
A5 I've decided there's not a lot of point in having deeply held values & principles if you don't try to hold yourself to them.
A5: A choice to pursue a life of service led me to be a lifeguard/WSI, veteran, scout leader, CAP leader & edu admin.
A5: Every choice has a consequence. I suspect the most infuential are the choices I didn't think mattered when I made them.
Amen. https://t.co/kpa4uOxTi2
A5 I've decided there's not a lot of point in having deeply held values & principles if you don't try to hold yourself to them.
Gold. https://t.co/OcD4u36VyL
A5: Every choice has a consequence. I suspect the most infuential are the choices I didn't think mattered when I made them.
I want this one to echo a bit around the (I)nternets https://t.co/eKKJCfSl9W
A5 I've decided there's not a lot of point in having deeply held values & principles if you don't try to hold yourself to them.
A5: the choice to become a library media specialist changed my world forever. ❤️💙❤️
. Thank you for sharing your love of all things papier!
So deeply agree with you. So glad we shared that journey. And on to the next chapter, right? https://t.co/zwgXXrpjGf
A5: the choice to become a library media specialist changed my world forever. ❤️💙❤️
I think our next chapters will be interesting, to say the least
Each decision, each step lays a foundation for the next one. When I look behind me, I am proud of the path I created.
Peter Drucker on choice: "Long-range planning does not deal w/future decisions, but w/ future of present decisions."
Oh goodness. That's one I need to think on! I'll figure out what it means while finishing the dishes. Love it.
The blessings of each step have been the amazing friends I've gathered along the way.
