So, we’ve been doing pluses (plusses?) and arrows as a means of closure for the 486 class and I’ve been thinking much about these both within the U of R context and also outside those walls in the larger social/educational construct. So here goes, and in the spirit of Eastern philosophy, I’ve tried not to separate the good from the meliora:

+ It’s been really fun to interact with pre-service teachers and struggle with them in understanding technology and science learning. I’m still very much trying to figure it all out myself (as per the usual), and the discourse is really refreshing.

-> I’m not always sure I’m as helpful as I could be. I feel like my knowledge is always very tenuous and that sometimes leads to a feeling of ambiguity when giving advice. I hope that it is useful to someone out there. I think it is, but I don’t pretend to have solid answers to much anymore. I’m beginning to learn how to embrace that feeling.

+ My 8th grade summer session kids are really interesting. They are all so unique and I am really happy to see them every morning. They’re so excited to ask questions despite it being, you know, summer, and many of them have already commented on how the appreciate my nerdiness. I just own the fact that I get really excited about the subject matter. I’ve been doing a lot of open-ended, more constructivist-style teaching with them and I already see how much more awesome and authentic it is. I also have lots of time to do some really in depth explorations with them. We spent four days on the water cycle alone. I wish I could figure out how to translate that quality of learning into the hurried pace of the regular school year.

-> I’m always wicked tired in the morning and have a hard time organizing myself and clearing mental cobwebs. I get up earlier for summer session than for the regular school year, and this is always really hard, as everyone I run into seems to ask how my summer “vacation” is going. I’ll let you know in a few weeks once I’m climbing peaks in the Adirondacks again.

+ I’m really challenging my conceptions of what it means to teach science appropriately. I’m really glad to be back in the theoretical world of talking about awesome pedagogy. I feel really renewed and ready to jump head first into as much inquiry as I can next year. I do bits and pieces here and there when I can, but next year is going to involve big leaps of faith…er…trust in empirical research. I think I’m ready to finally just jump in, and having tenure definitely allows for some more risk taking at this point.

-> That’s going to be a lot of work. I’ll be taking all the good parts of what I am currently doing and reworking them to be more student-centered while discarding that which is not in line with my philosophy. Given the structural constraints that I am faced with at school, this is going to require really careful planning and assessment at all levels. Go big or go home at this point.

+ I really like my new place. I finally have a back porch to hang out on. I get to see birds at my feeder, yet I’m still in the city and surrounded by fun things to do and great culture. Our neighbors are awesome and we have a great sense on community already established.

-> Tras is never around much anymore with her new residency program. Still, I’m keeping myself busy, but it’s just not the same. It’s kinda sad that New York had to pass a law to keep hospitals from overworking their residents. We work way too hard in this country, and what to show for it? Even if you win the rat race, you’re still a rat.

+/-> Still, life is really good. My old man just retired from a job that he hated and that was not intellectually challenging given his amazing capacity for learning. He chose to work as a maintenance mechanic after Vietnam so that we could have health insurance and a steady income/food supply. I already make more at this point in my career than my father has ever made. I really can’t complain about much these days when looking at what he sacrificed for us, and I’m also really glad he finally retired. We’re road tripping across the Adirondacks in a few weeks with zero plans. I can’t wait…