transitions.....
Wow, all of a sudden the summer seems to be flying away; one moment it seems like there are months ahead w/ nothing to do, and then BAM (snowbank! haha) it's August and everything's happening at once! This past week was definitely full of action and, to me, seemed to be almost symbolic of the recent transition from one world to the next....
Last weekend saw the last wedding of wedding season (congrats to Ashley and Detz! :-D) That was a complete kick.....between staying w/ Kim and Jon at their new apartment, driving through three monsoons w/ Simon trying to get from Versailles back to Dayton (in the wasteland of Ohio where stuff still grows), getting into throwing fights w/ Jimmy and Donkey at the reception (not to mention starting the "wear a beer cozy as a boxing glove" trend I started ;-), being completely horrified at the Brand family tradition that was inflicted on Detz and all the wedding guests (haha, love you Ashley, you nutcase!!), and then spending the rest of the night dancing away and laughing til my sides hurt (um, remember that time we square-danced?? LOL!) it was quite the time to remember. At the same time, though, I found the weekend to be a time of connecting w/ a lot of people....whether it was in casual conversation and/or joking antagonism, a dance, a hug, or an all-out "reconciliation" of sorts, I left feeling close to everyone....and yet sad at the same time, realizing that, with wedding season now over, the "see you later" that we said became undetermined for the first time.
On the way back from Dayton, I stopped by to visit Missy, which was also a great time, as always. As language teacher friends (and fellow victims of Isabel, heheh) we spent the afternoon both reminiscing about the past and talking about our plans for the future (over lots of iced coffee, of course ;-) It was an interesting "bridge" between college life and upcoming new teacher life, which was sort of encapsulated in this last week....
Twelve hours after I got home I left again, to meet up w/ two other teachers at Everest, and then drive to the aiport and fly to Atlanta. There we (and four other administrators) attended the week-long NCE Conference, basically initiating us into the wonderful world of teaching in a Legionary school. The Legionaries of Christ are a (fairly recent) religious order whose main work is education, and who founded the NCE (National Consultants for Education) which basically runs about 70 schools throughout the U.S. and Canada, one of which is Everest Academy. During the week, we learned a BOATLOAD of stuff about the Legionaries, their philosophy of education, a ton of Legionary buzzwords (like "integral formation" "formator" and "semper altius"....as if I hadn't had enough buzzwords after four years as an education major, lol), as well as a bunch of practical information and advice, especially about getting to know my students and best teaching for them. The most interesting stuff there had to do with gender differences, which is particularly important, as gender separate education is a big component of NCE schools. The basis of that is not to keep the boys and girls from "getting in trouble" but because there has been a great deal of educational and neurological research, especially lately, that points to biological differences in how boys and girls develop and learn, and thus, what classroom modifications should be made to best suit them both. It's fascinating actually....I really should write a separate entry about the stuff I learned that they never once talked about in our education classes (grrr).....I think y'all would find it interesting too....
At the conference we also had Mass and prayer every day, making it sort of half-retreat, half-conference and, for me, very centering cause my thoughts and feelings were very often all over the place. At the beginning, especially when I was first meeting the other people in the group, I was really nervous about the whole conference, and at several points, felt like I was kind of trying to find my place between all that was going on...having to move on from the college world, prematurely missing that world with the past weekend fresh in my memory, finding my place in teacher world, a place full of my ideals and dreams, and wonderful people, but different people and high expectations....basically a different world. But as the week went on I gradually saw my place more and more in that world. I clicked really well w/ my colleagues, especially the other teachers--they accepted me right away, talked to me openly about everything, and we did everything together during the week--I feel like I have friends already! And while all the info they chucked at me was at first overwhelming, towards the end it became more inspiring....the Legion is different, but a lot seems to resonate w/ me, especially regarding faith and education....I'm feeling better all the time about finding a niche there and practically can't wait to start teacher inservice week! (though, when I remember that I still have 9 courses to get ready, I still feel able to wait, heheh). Tomorrow I get to meet w/ my mentor though....**excitement** :-)
So yeah....last week was basically transition-city, and I still kind of feel like my head is spinning from it all....and today I turned 22, so that's another transition of sorts. But before I go off on another ramble/reflection that will only elongate this already too-long entry I will say "goodnight"....there is more transitioning to do in the morning after all :-P
Last weekend saw the last wedding of wedding season (congrats to Ashley and Detz! :-D) That was a complete kick.....between staying w/ Kim and Jon at their new apartment, driving through three monsoons w/ Simon trying to get from Versailles back to Dayton (in the wasteland of Ohio where stuff still grows), getting into throwing fights w/ Jimmy and Donkey at the reception (not to mention starting the "wear a beer cozy as a boxing glove" trend I started ;-), being completely horrified at the Brand family tradition that was inflicted on Detz and all the wedding guests (haha, love you Ashley, you nutcase!!), and then spending the rest of the night dancing away and laughing til my sides hurt (um, remember that time we square-danced?? LOL!) it was quite the time to remember. At the same time, though, I found the weekend to be a time of connecting w/ a lot of people....whether it was in casual conversation and/or joking antagonism, a dance, a hug, or an all-out "reconciliation" of sorts, I left feeling close to everyone....and yet sad at the same time, realizing that, with wedding season now over, the "see you later" that we said became undetermined for the first time.
On the way back from Dayton, I stopped by to visit Missy, which was also a great time, as always. As language teacher friends (and fellow victims of Isabel, heheh) we spent the afternoon both reminiscing about the past and talking about our plans for the future (over lots of iced coffee, of course ;-) It was an interesting "bridge" between college life and upcoming new teacher life, which was sort of encapsulated in this last week....
Twelve hours after I got home I left again, to meet up w/ two other teachers at Everest, and then drive to the aiport and fly to Atlanta. There we (and four other administrators) attended the week-long NCE Conference, basically initiating us into the wonderful world of teaching in a Legionary school. The Legionaries of Christ are a (fairly recent) religious order whose main work is education, and who founded the NCE (National Consultants for Education) which basically runs about 70 schools throughout the U.S. and Canada, one of which is Everest Academy. During the week, we learned a BOATLOAD of stuff about the Legionaries, their philosophy of education, a ton of Legionary buzzwords (like "integral formation" "formator" and "semper altius"....as if I hadn't had enough buzzwords after four years as an education major, lol), as well as a bunch of practical information and advice, especially about getting to know my students and best teaching for them. The most interesting stuff there had to do with gender differences, which is particularly important, as gender separate education is a big component of NCE schools. The basis of that is not to keep the boys and girls from "getting in trouble" but because there has been a great deal of educational and neurological research, especially lately, that points to biological differences in how boys and girls develop and learn, and thus, what classroom modifications should be made to best suit them both. It's fascinating actually....I really should write a separate entry about the stuff I learned that they never once talked about in our education classes (grrr).....I think y'all would find it interesting too....
At the conference we also had Mass and prayer every day, making it sort of half-retreat, half-conference and, for me, very centering cause my thoughts and feelings were very often all over the place. At the beginning, especially when I was first meeting the other people in the group, I was really nervous about the whole conference, and at several points, felt like I was kind of trying to find my place between all that was going on...having to move on from the college world, prematurely missing that world with the past weekend fresh in my memory, finding my place in teacher world, a place full of my ideals and dreams, and wonderful people, but different people and high expectations....basically a different world. But as the week went on I gradually saw my place more and more in that world. I clicked really well w/ my colleagues, especially the other teachers--they accepted me right away, talked to me openly about everything, and we did everything together during the week--I feel like I have friends already! And while all the info they chucked at me was at first overwhelming, towards the end it became more inspiring....the Legion is different, but a lot seems to resonate w/ me, especially regarding faith and education....I'm feeling better all the time about finding a niche there and practically can't wait to start teacher inservice week! (though, when I remember that I still have 9 courses to get ready, I still feel able to wait, heheh). Tomorrow I get to meet w/ my mentor though....**excitement** :-)
So yeah....last week was basically transition-city, and I still kind of feel like my head is spinning from it all....and today I turned 22, so that's another transition of sorts. But before I go off on another ramble/reflection that will only elongate this already too-long entry I will say "goodnight"....there is more transitioning to do in the morning after all :-P