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
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! How do we capture pure excitement for ourselves and our learners? Excitement is a big part of how we learn, because it shapes our connection to the ideas being shared. When learning is dull or boring, there is very little to remember for the future. What do you do to get you learners excited about the process of learning? What has you excited to learn more about? Currently, My partner and I are learning how to take random ideas and put them into a book form that will bring about curiosity. This is has been a challenge, because it's so easy to go into information mode. The world has plenty of those books. Instead, we want to spark ideas and get teachers excited about teaching again. In this video, we focus on cooperation, where we each have our own part that works towards a bigger goal of moving the marble farther down the hall. As we engage in professional development as a staff, how are we modeling different ways for learners to engage in meaningful cooperation focused on content mastery? If you look at this video, you might first think of force and motion. When I take a deeper look, this engagement could be focused on measurement, use of materials, variables, etc. What are you doing to get your learners to cooperate in short investigations that spark curiosity and wonder? I've been getting over my fears as I approach my 50th year on this planet. We all have hang ups about how we look, sound, and feel on camera. I'm following the lead of Gary Vaynerchuk and not caring about what I look like, but the message I'm sharing. This pivot in thinking led to the Traveling Teacher. I'm excited to share my travel adventures with you while offering some teaching tips. So excited! |
Categories
All
Archives
April 2024
|