Sometimes I forget to step back and look at how I am. My life is so hectic that I don’t even take the time to appreciate everything I have and am doing. So I wanted to do a little reflection of how the last couple months have been.
Personal
This semester I have gotten very good at multitasking. I am currently teaching full time, enrolled in two masters classes and I am wrestling at a national level. This is a lot of work and I often do not take the time to stop and enjoy all the amazing things in my life. So I wanted to acknowledge all the amazing people in my life that allow me to do what I am doing. This includes family, friends, coworkers, students and even randoms strangers that congratulate me on my wrestling successes in the University hallway. It is support like this that keeps me going. So thank you!
Classes
As for my classes I feel I have grown a lot in the last two months. In my EC&I 831 class. I have become much more comfortable being online and developing communities online. I feel like much more of a participant in social media and less of an audience member. I have began following groups I find very interesting from groups like WeAreTeachers and Canada Wrestling to people like JenBaselice and DougPeterson. I find my confidence to participate in online platforms has grown immensely. I used to be scared to share my opinions thinking “no one will listen” or worse “people will listen and think I am not intelligent”. This fear has held me back from being a participant for years. I am finally beginning to feel comfortable putting myself out there online. This class has also allowed me to try something I did not think I could. I have been compared to a bull in a china shop more times then I can count and never thought I could do any DIY projects because of this. I am realizing with the help of the internet I can do this. I just hope it turns out 🙂 I am looking forward to the rest of this class.
The other class I am taking is on theories in children’s literature. This class has allowed me to rediscover how eurocentric our society really is. It has shown me the importance of choose books for my students that represent all types of people, no matter their race, sex, age, sexuality or beliefs. I knew this was important previously but, never hand the chance to think deeply about what happens when a teacher does not expose their students to a variety of literature. I love the resources and knowledge I am gaining from this course. I hope the last month will be just as informative.
Looking Forward
So now what? I hope to continue with my learning in my classes and wish I can keep up the balancing act which is my life.
Ms. Brodner Always Learning 
I appreciated your blog post Kayla! I am also feeling that my life is hectic and busy right now, and I have found myself getting caught up in the chaos of it all and becoming stressed. It was nice to hear a reminder from you about stopping to be grateful and appreciative for all the things I have. It sounds like you are doing a great job of balancing everything. I try my best to find balance but sometimes my “to do list” gets overwhelming!
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I completely understand. I feel my to do list just grows every time I sit down to check things off of it. It is never ending.
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Yes, I also appreciated your blog, Kayla. Life is very hectic for me too. (I guess it’s not surprising in our profession!)
I also related to your feelings about putting yourself out there. I had the same feelings for the same reasons. It has been scary but also empowering to take risks and putt my thoughts out there. It has been good to develop a comfort in it. We all have something to say.
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I found it interesting because I am always encouraging my student to develop their own opinions and share them, yet I have always been hesitant to share them online.
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I think it’s incredible that you are wrestling, teaching plus taking two classes. I played hockey for the Cougars as an undergrad and I can’t imagine playing while teaching full time and taking grad classes. You have a lot on your plate but it sounds like you are managing although at times I’m sure it doesn’t feel that way. I’m sure it helps that you take a step back every now and then to reflect and “check-in” with yourself. Life is certainly a balancing act.
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An important and healthy thing to do is take a moment to reflect. Teachers become easily overwhelmed and it is important that we find some time to look back at what we have done as well as what we are currently accomplishing. Important blog posting, I enjoyed it!
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I often feel overwhelmed, but you raise a good point about focusing on things I have accomplished.
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It is so nice to have a review and rethink what have been done. I think I need to do a middle term summary. That’s valuable!
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