What have you personally learned about teaching from the reading?
I have learned that there are things I can do to thrive, prevent burnout and take ownership of my work including surround myself with positive people, cultivate my inner locus of control, let go of resentment and look at the bigger picture instead of focusing on the draining details.
What is the author's message that we are meant to take away from the reading?
Our actions matter more than our teaching conditions. While the circumstances can affect us, they do not define us.
Will you use any ideas from the reading directly with your students?
I think modeling and using all of these proactive methods to adjusting to challenging conditions can be utilized with students. I recently had to reframe a challenging situation with Chromebook issues for myself and a student. While Chromebook issues are popping up for many students, it seemed to happen more frequently with 3 students - one of whom is particularly sensitive to changes in his routine. I was never frustrated with the student but was starting to get very frustrated with IT who did not seem at all concerned about the repeated issues or the impact on student learning, teaching plans and my time. While attention to the draining details is important in computer troubleshooting, my focus with the student turned to how he and I had become a team in figuring this out. We started by cultivating our inner locus of control and talking about ways we can take control of this situation (for him - use a network desktop, for me - elevate the severity of the situation with IT). His frustration started to ease and he began to come see me with productive comments about his experiences. We are still battling with IT to eliminate these errors but our relationship and our mutual respect for each other have grown.
What questions have arisen for you in the reading?
What is my passion project? What are my gifts? What are my gaps?
Passion project - podcasting? eblock mini-lessons, activities
Gifts - technology skills, general positive outlook, willingness to learn
Gaps - seeing the big picture, multi-tasking
What competency(ies) are addressed by the reading?
ProEd d.1.a. Being a reflective practitioner and using evidence to continually evaluate his or her practice, particularly the effects of choices and actions on students, families, and other professionals in the learning community;
