Sea to Shining Sea
This 2014 year has been a busy one for me. I have checked a few items off my “bucket list”, achieved a professional goal
and made some new friends and colleagues.
It has taken me a lot of years, many mistakes, and missed opportunities
but I feel that I’m finally settling in to a good place in my life. In the months between April and July I
traveled to Boston, MA for the NSTA Conference, to San Diego, CA to attend a
Honeywell Conference, and to the Texas Gulf Coast for some family time.
A little background.
I went into teaching, not because I wanted to, but because I
was in between the proverbial “rock and a hard place.” I had a degree in Nuclear Medicine Technology
that was suddenly useless, unless I wanted to move across the US to work. I was a single mom with one child that was about
to start college and one starting her freshman year in high school and I was in
“a pickle.” My sister, Judith, is a long
time teacher – beginning her 42nd year as a middle school history teacher. She encouraged me to take my science degree
and go into education. I was living in
Arkansas at that time and the Arkansas Department of Education has a program
that allows an individual who has a Bachelor’s Degree to apply for a teaching
license and obtain their training through workshop hours. The up side is that you can start teaching
immediately (if you can get a school to hire you), and the down side is – most schools
don’t want you unless they're desperate to fill a position. I applied for the program, was accepted, but
was not able to get a job. In order to
keep my provisional license I had to sub at least 100 days per year. That’s a lot of days with low pay. In order to survive, I worked multiple jobs on weekends and some
nights. After two years I was finally
hired as a certified science teacher (I think they were desperate. LOL) Once I got the job I made a promise to myself
that if I hated teaching or if the students were not learning, I would leave
the profession after a couple of years.
That never happened and I’m glad that Judith “twisted my arm” into
beginning my teaching career.
Professional Goal –
Boston, MA
Now to get to my
point. In Arkansas schools teachers are
required to complete a yearly professional growth plan. It is something that you want to accomplish
that school year. Early on in my career they were simple – learn to make a Power
Point presentation, use Excel – things like that. Later it was to take a geology course. As time went by, those goals accomplished, I
needed new goals to aspire to. I wanted
to become a respected educator that could pass on information to other teachers
that would help them in their classroom.
I needed a platform to do this and in the world of education, this is
accomplished mainly through workshops. But, once again, life intervened and I found
myself teaching in Missouri. The
Missouri Department of Education is a bit different than Arkansas and I’m no
longer required to complete a professional growth plan, but I decided that I
wanted to go ahead and make one – just for myself. I feel that I owe it to my students and my
district to never stop growing as an educator. Once again I felt the desire to be a workshop
“presenter.” I had done some “local” workshops but nothing on a state or
regional level. A
colleague, who was on sabbatical, approached me about a presenting with her at
an upcoming conference. We wrote a proposal,
submitted it and were chosen to present at a Missouri statewide
conference. Other than a snowstorm that
nearly prevented us from getting there on time, everything went well and it was
a positive experience. With that under my belt I was fired up to try
for a national conference. Over the
years I have developed a strong networking system and made some great friends
at Arkansas State University, Jonesboro. Through my association with them I was asked
to be a co-presenter at the National Science Teachers Association conference in
Boston. It was an amazing experience and
I came home once again, fired up to do more presentations. I have just begun what I hope will be a long
and successful endeavor.
Educator Opportunity –
San Diego, CA
Late last winter I was alerted to an educator
opportunity. The Honeywell Corporation sponsors a Green Boot Camp for
teachers of mid-level grades. I love
environmental science so I jumped at the chance. I was chosen to attend and I have to say –
this is a conference that all teachers should apply for. Many of the eco conferences that I’ve
attended in the past consisted of a lot of handouts/note taking from
PowerPoints and “here’s my e-mail address if you have questions later.” Boring!
This was not the case at all. The
teachers became the students. It was all
hands-on, and we were presented with activities that we can actually use in our
classrooms. We were treated with respect
and that’s something that teachers don’t get enough of. The trip was fully funded, airfare, a room of
your own (I’m used to sharing with 2-4 other teachers), meals, a flash drive
with all the lesson plans, activities, power points, etc. ready to use in the
classroom. We were taken on field trips
and sight-seeing tours, and fun activities.
I can’t say enough good things about Honeywell and the Green Boot
Camp. There were 70 teachers from 12
countries in attendance and that is a lot of networking opportunity. We have a Facebook page where we share
lessons, ideas, upcoming workshops and camaraderie. I made friendships with amazing teachers
that I hope will last a lifetime. These
are the kind of people that hugged you when we parted and said “If you’re ever
in my area of the world, call me and we will show you around.” It made a lasting impact on me and provided
insight as to how workshops and presentations need to run. It made me more aware of how I could become a
better presenter. Another plus that came
about from this trip was a visit from my son and my cousin. My son, Ryan, lives in the Silverlake area of
LA and my cousin, Wayne , lives in West Hollywood. They drove down and stayed the night in San
Diego. We went to George’s at the Cove
at La Jolla for an amazing dinner. The
sun was just setting over the water when we were seated. It was absolutely beautiful and a memorable
experience.
Family Time – Port Aransas,
TX
I have 3 grandkids of my own and they are the world to
me. They live in McKinney, TX, which is
a 9 hour drive away. I don’t get to see
them very often and they grow so quickly.
My husband and I have always taken a yearly vacation. We’ve been fortunate to be able to travel within
the US from east to west and north to south.
Three years ago I asked my daughter if her family would like to vacation
with us. It would be a chance to kick
back and relax and spend time with the kids.
They agreed and we chose Port Aransas, TX which is on Mustang Island as
our destination. It’s an 8 hour drive
for them and 16 for us but we usually have more time to spend on the road than
they do. This was our third summer to
vacation there and I can’t imagine a beach vacation now without the kids. I think that when the kids get older they will
look back with fond memories of the beach vacations with Nana and Papa. JC and I love the Texas Gulf Coast. It’s not as pretty as AL or FL but there’s
just something about it that lures us there.
Each year on the drive home we contemplate what it would be like to buy a
winter home in one of the harbor towns.
We love Port LaVaca and Rockport and maybe someday we can become a part
time resident.
It wasn't an intentional plan to travel from the Atlantic to
the Pacific and to the Gulf all in a 4 month period but I’m certainly glad that
these opportunities allowed that. I love
life and try to live it to the fullest and hope that I have many more years to
enjoy all that it has to offer.
