Education is and will continue to be filled with a multitude of personal and professional lessons that I have learned both inside and out of the classroom. I have learned a great deal about who I want to be as a human and as an educator. I guess the purpose of this blog is to share some of my insights from the past nine years and put it out there for the world to read. You may glean from it what you will, but I hope, as I hope for my all of my students, that you will learn an important little nugget to apply to your life so that you may have a positive impact on those around you.
When I think of the beginning of a school year, I think of a wheel. Not just any wheel, but a ferris wheel. This ferris wheel is huge, sitting on the top of a mountain that has trees, snow, rocks, and a very narrow road. There is a long line to get onto this ride. In fact, the line curves back and forth down the side of the mountain. People have to stand close to the side of the mountain for fear of slipping down. But there you are safely perched at the top of the rock. You’re next, awaiting your turn on the ferris wheel. You are scared. This is the highest you have ever been. Yes, you have been on a ferris wheel before, but those other wheels were smaller; closer to safety and the comforts of your personal limits. Even though the ride is free, it requires that you must make a choice as to how you enjoy your experience. You can sit and hold on for dear life. You can keep track how long this ride will last before you can finally get off and move on with your day. Or you can embrace the beauty of the ride and try to enjoy every moment. Ideally, I would hope you apply this metaphor to your classroom experiences. The ferris wheel represents a brand new school year and classroom filled with students. Each student waits in line to get into your classroom and has an idea of what to expect, but bases that on previous experiences. Maybe your student experienced motion sickness the last time he was on the ride. Maybe he had so much fun that his expectations are super high. Maybe he had a mediocre experience and now he is not pumped about learning. The point being that our job is to make learning engaging, exciting, and fun. Our job is to also protect, guide, and hold students accountable. The reality is that the ride will be scary, it will have boring times, it will have moments of sheer beauty. To say that the ride will be all sunshines and rainbows is just unrealistic. A student will probably experience all of those moments over the course of the year. Guess what, that is okay. But the ultimate hope as educators is that our students walk away from ride having something positive to remember. Something that was learned, accomplished, and gleaned from a year of growth. My hope is that you enjoy the ride too. One glance to right or left can completely change the perspective of the viewer… Enjoy the ride and have a great year.
1 Comment
9/19/2016 07:24:59 pm
Mena, I ADORE the ferris wheel analogy. Perfection. Kinda reminds me of someone else I might know. Isn't it fun to take risk, accept challenges and enjoy the ride?! The endless perspectives of the view at all heights are the most intriguing. Can't wait to see some brave 5th graders embrace learning opportunities and unleash their unique talents this year in Mrs. HIll's class.
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Mena T. HillEducator, Wife, Mother, Colorado Native Archives
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