March Musings Day 5: Power of Being Connected

Being Connected Matters!

Within connected spaces

an electricity explodes.

Borders flatten.

Tribes come together.

Voices rise and expand.

PLNs grow exponentially.

Learning thrives.

©CVarsalona, 2018

I am a believer in the power of being connected, as do other connected educators. I understand that virtual communications bind us together in unique ways. Within my tribe of connected educators, I find support on my journey to find my greatness as a lifelong learner.  

Before connected learning was popular, voices were in silos. People worked alone, trying to navigate their path. One shot professional development did not open doors to enlightened learning unless strategies discussed were implemented, reflected upon, and shared with colleagues. Now with the advent of asynchronous, choice-driven learning available on Twitter, sparks fly. 

Today is #CelebrateMonday, the day set aside to extol successes in educations so I am celebrating connections, particularly the one with Kimberly Davis, the author of Brave Leadership. I met Kimberly online after hearing her speak at #G2Great. I was thrilled that Kimberly enthusiastically agreed to join me at #NYEDChat tonight for a lively Twitter conversation on the topic of "Owning Our Brave". While preparing for this chat, I read her manifesto. One statement jumped out at me "We believe that everyone has the ability to make a positive impact." Isn't that a powerful belief? 

I am excited to be able to moderate NYEDChat tonight and be in Kimberly's powerful but virtual presence. Will you join me to dig deeper into the topic, "Owning Our Brave"?  I am ready to embrace the connections.

 

It's Day 5 of the March Slice of Life Story Challenge at Two Writing Teachers.

Heart Full of Gratitude

Now that the bright lights of NCTE 17 have dimmed and Thanksgiving decorations are being sorted and placed away for another year of celebration, I sit at the computer and write with a heart full of gratitude.  What came out of this reflective moment is a gratitude Buncee that you can access in its full animated version here.

Still image created with Buncee

Then, on the recommendation of our parish priest, Father James, who gave the Thanksgiving Day homily, I opened one of Oprah's SuperSoul Sunday podcast. What I found is an inspiring conversation between Lynne Twist and Oprah.

The following take aways were powerful thoughts from Lynne Twist:

-What bounty and blessings have I received from the universe that I want to celebrate and be grateful for?

-Don't bookend your day with scarcity.

-Wake up in the morning and be grateful for the sweet territory of silence and sleep.

She also quoted her teacher, the Benedictine monk, Brother David Steindl-Rast.

"Gratefulness is the experience of the great fullness of life." 

- Brother David Steindl-Rast

I needed to mull that over. True, I have found powerful #onewords to guide my journey each year: openness, listen, believe, joy and I did avail myself of the gifts those words afforded me. But now, I question if I was truly immersed in "grateful living" for I did spent some days floundering. Was I not able to fully grasp the crisp clearness of thoughtful action beyond those spoken words? Did I avail myself of the fruits of living and the opportunity to enjoy life, even in the midst of unhappiness? 

I now ask myself those deeper questions. Knowing that this is my new challenge, I commit to waking up each day this week, not with thoughts of what I did not accomplish or wasted minutes of what I need to do but with an open heart to what each new day will bring. Positivity will rise beyond the scarcity of thought, the not enoughs of each day.

Wish me luck as I continue to have a heart full of gratitude and an action plan to accomplish this. I #CelebrateMonday with a renewed spirit of what I can accomplish today with a positive spirit and hope you do also.

Celebrate Life's Joys

⬇

Summertime

Nature

Beach


Outdoor Concerts
(SixGun Country Band at Long Beach, NY Summer Concert Series)

Unveiling of Springsations-Global Gallery of Artistic Expressions

Baby Wonder

We can find life's joys if we notice what is around us and appreciate its beauty!

Summer is the time to Relax-Reflect-Recharge!

   

I am celebrating #CelebrateMonday with my Twitter colleagues and Ruth Ayres with her Celebrate This Week community of writers at #celebratelu who joyfully embrace life.

March Musings 6: #CelebrateMonday

Monday has been traditionally set aside to review the week's packed calendar of events. Oftentimes, we do not pause to slow down after the weekend to breath in life's sweet air. We just jump into Monday and start the week off. 

Today, I decided to take the time to discover the richness of what this Monday will offer (after all, Monday is the start to a full week). In doing so, I will celebrate rather than list an exhausting amount of to do events. This way, I can savor each one.

Each Monday, I like to #CelebrateMonday with my Twitter edus across the globe (thanks, Sean Gaillard, for creating the hashtag to trend the positives.) 

Here is my celebration log for today:

• Congratulate the kindergarten snow poets at Normandy Elementary School in Ohio under the direction of Char Shyrock, Director of Curriculum and Instruction for Bay Village Schools in Ohio and teacher, Lindsey Bragg. The children created snow poetry for my upcoming global gallery of artistic expressions, Winter Wonder 17.  I celebrate their voices! 

• Exercise. I celebrate my well-being!
• Gear up for #NYEDChat's conversation tonight at 8pmEST on Leaders Who Prevail with guest moderators Rick Jetter and Rebecca Coda. I celebrate connected colleagues and their voices! Join in. 

As an ending thought, Steven Tyler's remark is fitting, 

"Throw your hands in the air and celebrate life."

Let's do it! Celebrate Monday!

This post is the 6th in a series titled March Musings  for the March Slice of Life Story Challenge created by Two Writing Teachers.

Slicing my life during March is an opportunity to savor 

the small moments that have allowed me 

to notice and wonder more deeply.

Preparing for School: Awaken Joy

Back-To-School 2016 Thoughts

Teachers:

With the start of a new school year, many images come to mind. In the early days of education, the teacher was thought of as the sage on the stage who filled students' minds with new knowledge to lead them onward. With the advent of the technological age, the sage on the stage has undergone a make-over. Moving from old school to a contemporary version, the teacher emerges as a passionate awakener of learning who opens the door to inquiry-based learning, collaborative exploration, self-awareness, and self-efficacy. The teacher is more than a facilitator of learning. He/she becomes the guide and the life-long learning coach. 

Students:

Students walk through the doors on day one of the new school year into a community of learners under the guidance of their awakeners. They are guided to become young historians, investigative reporters, avid listeners, active scientists, and writers with voice who notice, wonder, explore new avenues of learning, and discover paths to pursue. Teaches as awakeners are the front-line instructors who lead the way and step aside to kidwatch happenings where learning is turned over to curiousity-driven children.

Hacks for Teachers as Awakeners to Shift the Literacy Landscape Toward Student-Led Learning:

• Bring positivity and passion to classroom practices to motivate and engage
• Introduce collaborative activities to build positive relationships in a culture of trust
• Create a climate of questioning and inquiry for aspiring wonderologists
• Offer choice to amplify student voice
• Foster continual reflection

Please visit Margaret Simon's site for the return of DigiLit Sunday as the writers discuss preparing for the school year. 

Today is #CelebrateMonday, time to trend the positives in education and awaken joy. 

Our EduNarrative is Important

This morning, I opened the windows to the beautiful start of a day and listened to the chirping sounds filtering through. The sun shone brightly and spring seemed to be popping out all over. Flowers and trees were in bloom and people were milling about. 

Twitter was also chirping early this morning. Sean Gaillard opened the day with reminders that we would be celebrating the positives at #CelebrateMonday. A tweet from another edufriend, Alex Stubenbort, came through my Twitter feed, posing a question of the week: How can teachers as a group dispel the "just a teacher" narrative that is so prevalent in our society? Why is this important to do so?

Since I was about to write a tribute post to teachers I replied to Alex's request, asking educators to join #weteach365 and change the narrative of education. 

Teaching has been an honored tradition throughout the years. Articles have been written showing that the teacher is the one who has the ability to shape the course of a child's future. Teachers, as the awakeners, guide students on their journeys. They are the influencers. James H. Stronge's work on effective teaching notes this in the following #eduinspiration:

On #CelebrateMonday and every day of the school year, teachers are asked to tell their stories. They post photos of their interactive classrooms, their makerspaces, and passion projects to showcase the successes of their craft as it impacts student learning. Edunarratives need to shine in praise of what effective teachers do best: ignite passions, provide choices leading to amplified student voice, and promote student ownership of learning. 

As a collective body of practitioners, teachers can change the narrative of education through concerted efforts as awakeners, leaders, and change agents for they are the champions of the child and difference makers who impact learning. 

Why is it important to tell your edunarrative? 

Write to #weteach365 on Twitter with your response.

Please visit Two Writing Teachers here to read other Slice of Life Tuesday slices.

Refresh!

The time is right, I thought this morning. My garden needs refreshing. After all, it is spring or so I thought as I donned my winter jacket. A chill was in the air  but I was determined to put the plants I purchased in the ground and so the design process began. As I worked, I reflected on the topic, refresh, that Margaret Simon asked the Digilit Sunday blogging community to consider.

Since the day was spent in the endeavor of creating my meditation garden, today I am in replay mode, thinking of ways to reconnect with nature and life, even though it is still very cool outside.

On #CelebrateMonday, a Twitter site started by a colleague Sean Gaillard to accentuate the positives, I ask my readers to think about what spring offers. It is a pathway to renewing, refreshing our thoughts and actions. In springtime, we can gather, sit, and wait for inspiration and then act with positivity to finish the days strong until the summer months come upon us. 

"Spring is in the air" in our minds and hearts even though the weather here on Long Island says differently. If you travel over to one of my previous blogs, you will hear the short ditty song, Spring is in the Air, I created. The link up is here. 

So on this #CelebrateMonday, replay last week's moments to start this week off strong. 

Don't forget to link-up with Digilit Sunday here to read other blogger's thoughts on the topic, refresh. 

Perhaps you would like to see what is blooming in my virtual garden. Travel to the Twitter hashtag, #SpringsSeeds, to view the new blossoms that keep popping up for my spring online gallery, Spring's Seeds.

Reach and Connect

The skyscrapers of New York City remind us to reach. Like those skyscrapers, connected colleagues' voices can rise high. Joined together we can envision new vistas, see new possibilities, and celebrate positivity. 

Each Monday on Twitter, #CelebrateMonday asks us to showcase the positives. To open dialogue on positivity, Dan McCabe and I will lead the #NYEDChat moderators in a conversation with our connected "edufriends" on Monday, May 2, 2016 at 8 pm EST.

NYEDChat Moderators :

Bill Brennan, Victoria Day, Blanca Duarte, Dan McCabe, Lisa Meade, Starr Sackstein, Dennis Schug, Tony Sinanis, Carol Varsalona

Connected Educator Guest Moderators:

Bobby Dodd, Sean Gaillard, Reed Gillespie, Phil Griffin, Neil Gupta, Jon Harper, 
Jennifer Hogan, Eoin Lenihan, Craig Vroom, Jennifer Williams

While the above connected educators are Positivity Champions, I recognize that there are so many more I come in contact with on social media who have a growth mindset. On behalf of the NYEDChat team I send out this invitation to join the conversation, Positive People Do More, to all who champion the "positives" across the globe. 

NYEDChat, as the voice of New York State educators, reaches beyond our state boundaries to connect with others on timely topics in education. Please join me at #NYEDChat on #CelebrateMonday May 2, 2016 for an epic conversation. The question document below is ready for your perusal. 

Ready to rock the Twittersphere as we discuss how to end the year with a strong finish, right up to the #lastbell, as Jennifer Hogan says. 

Don't forget to #CelebrateMonday today. 

Question to Ponder: 

What might you do differently to create a positive environment that celebrates the journey toward success? 

Observation

I've walked the boardwalk only a few times this winter, each time gazing at the majesty of the ocean. Yesterday, as the sun shone bright and the wind tossed my hair, I turned my eyes away from the ocean to view what flanks it. It was then that I noticed a sight worth capturing. A single snowflake suspended from the lamp pole reminded me that life is a series of contrasts and that beauty is all around, if I but look.

As the wind blew on this in-between the seasons' type of day, I reflected.

-The ocean lures us to its shores. It roars in troubled times and softens its waves when caressing the land. It is a giver and a receiver. 

-The seasons come and go with their singular beauty and the ocean accepts all. 

-There is no stopping time as it moves in and out of our lives. We can accept what is before us whether it is a sight our eyes do not what to behold or a thought that enters as gently as the sea in low tide. 

Yesterday, spring opened its arms but the winter winds swept the boardwalk and a lone snowflake reminded me that life is beautiful in every season and each moment needs to be savored. 

This post marks the twenty-eighth one in my series Clearing a Path for Two Writing Teachers' March Slice of Life Challenge-Day 28. 

On this #CelebrateMonday may you notice what is before you today and reflect on its meaning in your life. 

Pause to Reflect

In our daily routines and structures, do we take time to pause and reflect?

If not then, find some time each day to do so.

As we move through life

with quickened pace,

the quiet times

are needed to

regroup,

reflect,

renew

life.

Monday is the first day of the work week to find time to review our structures and routines. It is the time to set goals and move forward with momentum. Make Monday the start of a week of celebration.

Today, I #CelebrateMonday with #MondayMotivation for #reflect31.

Enjoy your week!

Tweet a Dream

New hashtags surface all the time on Twitter, so when I received a tweet from a colleague, Sean Gaillard, recognizing Monday as not only #CelebrateMonday but #TweetaDream Day, my interest was picqued.

What is the #TweetADream campaign?

As the non=profit organization, Our Future World, notes their global #TweetADream campaign is a happening in more than 35 countries. Today, June 1, 2015, International Children's Day, students and teachers across the world are asked to tweet their dreams "in a massive Twitter action, giving a voice to young people's dreams around the world."

This inspirational quote spurred me on to create my own image to celebrate dreams for the future.

LET'S #TweetaDream to INSPIRE our youth

to pursue their passions,

follow their dreams,

and

realize the myriad of possibilities

awaiting them in their futures.

BUILD TOMORROW FOR TODAY'S YOUTH!