2013 Memories on Twitter

Just for a bit of end of year fun, here's a movie of my 2013 memories on Twitter.  Made via Vizify.

Believe in yourself

As I am starting to reflect on this year, I realized that I stepped out of my comfort zone on numerous occasions. My fear of failure did not hold me back.

Was it all just smooth sailing?  Of course not! 

I made mistakes, which I did not do intentionally.  Things did not always turned out as planned, I have experienced failure, but I know now that it is o.k. as all of this was my First Attempt In Learning.

It just showed me that I was doing something, trying new things. 

I am learning and growing! 

"As it happens, it is not failure or rejections that hurts you or holds you back.  It is the fear of failure or rejection.  It is the anticipation of fear or rejection that paralyzes you and holds you back from doing what you need to do in the first place." - Brian Tracey, motivational speaker and author

This says it all

Exciting times ahead

Next year will see me with a year filled with new learning.

As part of my CORE eFellowship, I will be involved in my inquiry/research/learning/work about the Pedagogy and Learning in a NE/Year 1 classroom and I am looking forward to this exciting fellowship I've joined!

2014 will also see me training as a Reading Recovery Teacher, which will enable me to deliver intensive one to one instruction to 6 year old students having difficulty with literacy learning. 

I will also be involved in the Connected Rotorua Teachers group with our aim to start a professional learning network based in Rotorua.  

Exciting times ahead to building connections, inquire, learn, grow and inspire!

Teacher Burnout

Before I knew it, Term 4's EduIgnite was upon me!

As presenting does not come naturally to me, I had to dig deep to gather courage in getting a presentation ready.

I made the decision to base my presentation around 'Teacher Burnout' as I had experienced the feeling of this once in my life as a teacher. While finding myself on the edge of self-doubt, I was emotionally exhausted and I found school pressures and stresses unavoidable.

I felt fortunate that I was able to re-ignite my spark for teaching by collaborating with other professionals in my PLN.  I had to remind myself that I am an enabler and not a magician and most of all, I had to think positive!

I came to the conclusion that it is crucial that we positively support fellow teachers and walk with them while letting them genuinely feel that they are appreciated.  This, in my opinion, might reduce the burnout in so many teachers.