As a child, especially those teenage years, I didn't realize how blessed I was to grow up in my hometown. I always wanted to be in edgier places like Oakland, San Francisco, or New York. Instead, I was stuck in "Vacaville", which had no life for a young inspiring professional. The one thing I did have was a strong sense of community through my church and people I grew up with in my neighborhood In all, I spent 25-30 years living in and out of Vacaville. I would always return home after having adventures in New York City, Alberta, Canada, Melbourne, Australia, Koeln, Germany, and Dubai, UAE. On every major holiday break and summer, I would always return home to see my family. My parents knew that the first stop would be to my favorite restaurant, Murillo's. I can't count how many times my family ate together at this local Mexican restaurant. I can see my mom laughing over a basket of chips and my dad complaining that he ate too many. Now that my mom has passed away and my dad lives in Texas, I rarely have the opportunity to return home. In August 2023, I had the opportunity to lead a workshop in Berkeley, about 45 minutes away. Just like old times, I picked up my rental car and drove directly to Murillo's to reminisce and create new memories. This video captures my happiness with returning back to the best hot salsa ever made and my favorite combination plate of a shredded beef tostada, cheese enchilada, rice, and beans. I need to return home more often.
0 Comments
I'm very excited for Denise Kraft and her team as they welcome Trevor MacKenzie to their Igniting Inquiry conference in Middletown, Connecticut on June 27-29, 2024. For more information, please watch this video! We are all driven by a mission to change the world. I've long since believed that the school library was part of mine, since they are the hub of all school activity. School libraries have evolved greatly since many of us have been in school. When I think of librarians from my childhood, I envision an old lady sitting behind a circulation desk stamping the library card. She is dressed in a cardigan with a flowery dress that reaches over her knees with a pair of glasses sitting on the bridge of her nose. Does this sound familiar? Now, school librarians have taken on a broader set of skills that enhance what is being learned in the classroom. The librarian is a... To meet all of these needs, we need to consider our spaces and how they are used. We are no longer a curator of a collection, but of tangible, digital, and human resources. This requires a different mindset of how to create spaces that meet these needs. To assist with this process, I have created an overview video to help you. Let's have some fun! What are others ways you create a more learner-driven library space? Please post below! Every week, I want to begin to shout out ideas that I have learned from different campuses that I've visited. This is an informal reflection on some things that have touched me and helped me to become a better educator. For my first shout-out, I would like to present Le Jardin Academy in Kailua, Oahu, Hawaii. I was approached by the PYP coordinator to lead a consultancy about the culture of agency and personal/shared inquiry. To begin our process, we explored how to build a culture of agency based on the work of Edgar H. Schein on his work related to organizational culture. We took Shein's three levels of culture and applied them to agency. We met over an hour session online to set the stage for goal-setting through the use of a success criteria. The staff was challenged to make a goal related to cultural artifacts, espoused values, and underlying assumptions. For our in-person sessions, I had the privilege to walk the campus and see learners focusing on their personal inquiries. This was a magical experience. It was fun to see them take risks on their wonderings and apply different approaches to inquiry. Afterwards, we had a sit down as grade levels to explore various ways that we might grow and clear up misconceptions. This campus is truly open-minded and here are some of my thoughts that might inspire you as well. This past year, I was asked to participate in Inquiry Spotlight with Kimberly Mitchell. This process helped me to honor my own educational journey while helping others. In honor of this process, I want to shout-out each week a person who has impacted my life through their kindness and generosity. The first Educator Shout-Out is none other than Kimberly Mitchell. She is the author of Experience Inquiry and a mentor to many through her numerous webinars and speaking engagements. Please share your interactions with Kimberly and how she has shaped your educational journey. How are we being more flexible with our learning spaces? How do they reflect our learner's needs and not our own as the teacher? This delicate balance is always at the forefront of my mind as I navigate new spaces each week. As a full-time trainer, I am always perplexed by shared spaces and how I will make them intimate for my participants. I use everything from windows, doors, sides of cabinets, vending machines, etc. Usually, I am in cavernous spaces, such as libraries and cafeterias, because they are large enough for a whole group. At FLIBS last year, I was gifted an entire villa for my workshop with a rooftop terrace overlooking a pool. For some, this might have been a distraction. Instead, I looked at it as a golden opportunity to connect with the outdoors in break out rooms. My participants, especially the ones from Colorado, really appreciated the opportunity to work in mixed spaces. How are you turning your learning spaces from lemons to lemonade? We know that most classrooms are smaller than they should be, so how do we reframe them to work for our learners? One possible way is to ask our learners how to redesign our space, so it's flexible and more aligned to their learning preferences. An obstacle quickly turns into a win-win for everybody! |
Categories
All
Archives
April 2024
|