Learning New Things

Blogging is a new experrience for me, and I am not sure how I feel about it. I've had friends tell me that if I wrote a blog, they would read it (I suppose they apreciate my witty insightfulness) but I've always wondered if I really have any thing to say that others will consider worth reading. This week provided me with the opportunity to explore the idea of blogging, and I can see the value of sharing via blogs and the personal satisfaction of writing. I don't know if I am ready to launch out on my own into the great wide ocean of internet blogging, but I'm trying. I am proof that an old dog can learn new tricks. My people at AHS would be proud. Check us out at www.athenshighschool.org/

The Value of Flexibility

While on summer vacation this year, I discovered that I was expecting a baby in March. My other child is nine, and one can only imagine what was going through my mind. Let me just say that I was certainly not thrilled about having to start over after tasting the freedom of sleeping in and having a somewhat independent child. After the panic wore off and rational thinking re-established itself, I considered not only the changes that would take place in my very near future but also the benefits to such changes and the blessing of having a new addition to the family. This unexpected baby is not a curse; rather,  it is an opportunity for growth and new and precious memories.

How often have we as educators had unexpected and sometimes unwanted change thrust upon us. With new legislation, financial shortages, and job worries to add to the day-to-day issues of unruly children and just getting the technology to work, it is easy to slip into panic about the future. Early in my teaching career, I learned the value of flexibility, and any expert teacher will confirm that one cannot survive this careeer without it. I encourage all the teachers and expectant parents out there to stay flexible, roll with the punches, hang in there, and all those other cliches. The storm will pass eventually, and we all will be better individuals because we endured.