Tag Archives: prompt

Bend

After a detour to retrieve two of my children from Camp Grandparents, I’ve finally been able to let the sediments settle in my head.

This week eroded my brain. Like the stream capturing the river, my sense of direction and safety have been pulled off in an unexpected direction. And that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

image of whitewater rafting

picture from the Nantahala Outdoor Center

To be honest, I am terrified about this Fellowship. My last biology class was 20 years ago so my externship to date has been a crash course in cellular biology — that, and me wondering at night how to translate the information to young children without inadvertently oversimplifying to the point of misconceptions. I am afraid of failing my students and the team.

The techno-frustration of this week is an important takeaway for me; not because I want to dwell in frustration, mind you, but because it forced me to place myself in the position of a student and recognize that frustration does pass, that time smooths edges and exposes new paths. I will be frustrated in this Fellowship because I will be learning in this Fellowship, and so I will need to hold tight to geologic time. I can flex. I will not break.

Thankfully, I am not alone. I have a team to help guide me around the bend.

 

 

Getting out…

What am I looking forward to getting out of my Kenan experience? Hmmm…

At this point, I am mostly looking forward to getting out on the river tomorrow and decompressing a bit. Long term, I hope to become a better teacher for my students, families, and colleagues. I want to gain a deeper understanding of the content underpinning the life sciences strands in elementary school so that together we can make it concrete, tangible, and accessible to students, families, and communities. And I want to be able to build a connection between the women who run the lab and the young girls dreaming of their futures, to help my girls see that their native languages are strengths, not obstacles. I do want to help change my small corner of this great world.

But for now, I want to rest up so that I can be open to whatever the world tosses up tomorrow when we venture out into it.