Week 3: January 12th - 20th
I need to be much more dutiful about maintaining my writing practice. Yet I don't want to feel so obliged to my writing that I start churning out forced robotic responses about mundane issues and reflections, but I also don't want to let myself get lazy or too comfortable either.
My graduate school online course is about to begin and I honestly couldn't be more excited to get back into the swing of things and start reading intellectually-stimulating and challenging journal articles. I look forward to engaging in dialogue with my amazing cohort of like-minded educators who continually inspire me to think more deeply and live more authentically.
Speaking of living authentically, this week I celebrated two very special AIS-R events. The first was something new: the AIS-R Foundation Gala: an expensive evening of fundraising for the school. Celebrated at the beautiful home of our high school principal, the evening felt positively star-studded. Big bulbed bright lights strung haphazardly among the trees of the sunken garden illuminated the cleanly scrubbed and made-up faces of AIS-R parents, faculty and supporters. Everyone was dressed to the nines (where does that expression come from exactly?) and looked phenomenal. The dinner was catered by the Four Seasons and I thought it was absolutely delicious. My favorite dishes were the mushroom soup - rich, aromatic and earthy - and the smoked salmon appetizer. Three people at my table didn't like smoked salmon so I was able to fill myself with three helpings of it! That and my numerous glasses of sweet red wine in the company of my dear friends made for a very joyful, if not hedonistic evening.
I had spent the few hours leading up to the gala getting ready with my "gals". We did our hair and make up and talked frivolously. It felt like being back in high school again.
I don't know how much money the gala raised but I am assuming it was quite a hefty load. It got me thinking about the value of an education and how so many people do not see education as an investment. I know that I currently live in an incredibly affluent part of the world and that the parents of my students are able to afford to spend thousands upon thousands of dollars on their children's education, but it is more than just money, it is about priorities. The parents of my students could just as easily spend their money on private tutors but they clearly prioritize the educational needs of their children and value the American educational system. All of my students' parents want and expect their children to attend American universities because "they are the best". Wanting the best for your child is not just an American concept. My students' parents come from all over the world. Their businesses and homes and livelihoods have been shaped outside of the United States, which finds me wondering, why do they value an American education so much?
When I look at American public schools today I see a wide variety of educational experiences. Some US public schools are phenomenal places of learning that value teachers by paying them well and supporting their professional growth. These schools value their parents and above all, their students. These school's commit to learning and provide safe, caring and supportive environments for all to thrive. Other schools do not. On the opposite end of the spectrum there are those US public schools that intimidate their teachers, belittle students and criticize parents. This is particularly true in impoverished school districts - namely, the ones who need the most support and encouragement.
Why is this? Why does this happen? What is to account for the severe gap between the privileged and underprivileged? Is it really just money? Or is it something else?
....I feel myself slipping into a discussion about socioeconomic inequalities in the United States and while I do consider this to be a worthy topic of reflection, I feel as though it is rather heavy and detracting from the original intention I had for this post. So I apologize socioeconomic gap but you are just going to have to wait.
Fast forward to January 20th.
One of my most favorite AIS-R days of the year....
The Terry Fox Run!
Earlier this year I made a commitment to myself to get into better shape through running. I have started off slowly and over the past few weeks have been making better progress with my speed and distance. The Terry Fox run at our school was a short run, just a little over 2 miles. The real Terry Fox ran approximately a marathon a day! His goal was to run from the Eastern coast of Canada to the Western coast. He dipped his foot into the Atlantic and set running off for the Pacific. He was just barely 21 years old. His story is heartbreaking, but I never tire of hearing it. Diagnosed with bone cancer at the age of 18 Terry Fox's life as a normal and ordinary Canadian teenager was changed for ever. He came up with the idea of running across Canada as a way to garner attention for cancer research. Cancer in the late 80s didn't have the tremendous support or attention that it has today. Nowadays there are numerous walks, runs, marathons, events and fundraisers for cancer research, but back in Terry's time, it was still quite a hush hush issue. He made his illness and the struggle to find a cure for cancer public and inspired a generation of kids to stand up for causes he believed in.
I tear up almost every Terry Fox day thinking about him and his story. He never got to finish his run across Canada. He died a few hundred miles before reaching the finish line. Though he did manage to run the equivalent distance of Miami to Seattle (which shockingly is only just slightly more than halfway across Canada).
Every year the Terry Fox run reminds me to stop complaining. To step up and take action. To quit whining. To feel more grateful. I had lots of students coming up to me telling me they couldn't run because "they were sick", "they had bad shoes", "they were tired"....I smiled and half-jokingly looked at them and said, "Terry Fox had progressive cancer and only one leg and he ran about a marathon a day, what's your excuse again?".
But Terry Fox didn't run across Canada on one leg to make others feel guilty about not running. He ran because that is all he knew how to do. He wasn't the smartest, best looking or most creative person, but he had a passion and a vision of a better world and he did what he could. We don't have to be perfect. We don't even have to succeed, but we do have to try and we do have to give it everything we've got.
I need to be much more dutiful about maintaining my writing practice. Yet I don't want to feel so obliged to my writing that I start churning out forced robotic responses about mundane issues and reflections, but I also don't want to let myself get lazy or too comfortable either.
My graduate school online course is about to begin and I honestly couldn't be more excited to get back into the swing of things and start reading intellectually-stimulating and challenging journal articles. I look forward to engaging in dialogue with my amazing cohort of like-minded educators who continually inspire me to think more deeply and live more authentically.
Speaking of living authentically, this week I celebrated two very special AIS-R events. The first was something new: the AIS-R Foundation Gala: an expensive evening of fundraising for the school. Celebrated at the beautiful home of our high school principal, the evening felt positively star-studded. Big bulbed bright lights strung haphazardly among the trees of the sunken garden illuminated the cleanly scrubbed and made-up faces of AIS-R parents, faculty and supporters. Everyone was dressed to the nines (where does that expression come from exactly?) and looked phenomenal. The dinner was catered by the Four Seasons and I thought it was absolutely delicious. My favorite dishes were the mushroom soup - rich, aromatic and earthy - and the smoked salmon appetizer. Three people at my table didn't like smoked salmon so I was able to fill myself with three helpings of it! That and my numerous glasses of sweet red wine in the company of my dear friends made for a very joyful, if not hedonistic evening.
I had spent the few hours leading up to the gala getting ready with my "gals". We did our hair and make up and talked frivolously. It felt like being back in high school again.
When I look at American public schools today I see a wide variety of educational experiences. Some US public schools are phenomenal places of learning that value teachers by paying them well and supporting their professional growth. These schools value their parents and above all, their students. These school's commit to learning and provide safe, caring and supportive environments for all to thrive. Other schools do not. On the opposite end of the spectrum there are those US public schools that intimidate their teachers, belittle students and criticize parents. This is particularly true in impoverished school districts - namely, the ones who need the most support and encouragement.
Why is this? Why does this happen? What is to account for the severe gap between the privileged and underprivileged? Is it really just money? Or is it something else?
....I feel myself slipping into a discussion about socioeconomic inequalities in the United States and while I do consider this to be a worthy topic of reflection, I feel as though it is rather heavy and detracting from the original intention I had for this post. So I apologize socioeconomic gap but you are just going to have to wait.
Fast forward to January 20th.
One of my most favorite AIS-R days of the year....
The Terry Fox Run!
Earlier this year I made a commitment to myself to get into better shape through running. I have started off slowly and over the past few weeks have been making better progress with my speed and distance. The Terry Fox run at our school was a short run, just a little over 2 miles. The real Terry Fox ran approximately a marathon a day! His goal was to run from the Eastern coast of Canada to the Western coast. He dipped his foot into the Atlantic and set running off for the Pacific. He was just barely 21 years old. His story is heartbreaking, but I never tire of hearing it. Diagnosed with bone cancer at the age of 18 Terry Fox's life as a normal and ordinary Canadian teenager was changed for ever. He came up with the idea of running across Canada as a way to garner attention for cancer research. Cancer in the late 80s didn't have the tremendous support or attention that it has today. Nowadays there are numerous walks, runs, marathons, events and fundraisers for cancer research, but back in Terry's time, it was still quite a hush hush issue. He made his illness and the struggle to find a cure for cancer public and inspired a generation of kids to stand up for causes he believed in.
I tear up almost every Terry Fox day thinking about him and his story. He never got to finish his run across Canada. He died a few hundred miles before reaching the finish line. Though he did manage to run the equivalent distance of Miami to Seattle (which shockingly is only just slightly more than halfway across Canada).
Every year the Terry Fox run reminds me to stop complaining. To step up and take action. To quit whining. To feel more grateful. I had lots of students coming up to me telling me they couldn't run because "they were sick", "they had bad shoes", "they were tired"....I smiled and half-jokingly looked at them and said, "Terry Fox had progressive cancer and only one leg and he ran about a marathon a day, what's your excuse again?".
But Terry Fox didn't run across Canada on one leg to make others feel guilty about not running. He ran because that is all he knew how to do. He wasn't the smartest, best looking or most creative person, but he had a passion and a vision of a better world and he did what he could. We don't have to be perfect. We don't even have to succeed, but we do have to try and we do have to give it everything we've got.
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