I Breathe for Change

Update!

I am super excited to share that this week I was accepted into this summer's yoga teacher training with Breathe for Change!  I am thrilled to have been selected to participate in this program and looking forward to being a part of the amazing B4C community.  

Here is a little bit about the training...

I will be participating in a 200 hour certification training that will take place in Madison from mid-June - early July.  Our work will focus on transformation of self, teaching, and community as well as refreshing the self to prepare for new beginnings.  In addition to learning about anatomy, social-emotional development, connecting yoga and mindfulness practices to curriculum and classroom community building we will practice teaching yoga to children and families every day.  The training will be intense, but I really enjoy immersive learning experiences and am looking forward to being in the flow and learning a lot.

This week while in class at my local yoga studio I realized that after the summer, I will be able to teach classes!  It was an exciting and scary realization.  I worry that my practice isn't as advanced as it should be, but I also remind myself that it is a journey and you can only be where you are.  While I have some anxiousness about the training, I am trying to focus on it as an opportunity to go deeper into my own practice of yoga and extend that into my practice of teaching.  

I thought I would share a little bit from my application to B4C as I really enjoyed writing it:

Why are you inspired to participate in Breathe For Change’s 200-hour yoga teacher training for educators?

I believe that I can change the world.  I believe that I change the world every day through the interactions I have with each student, teacher, and community member that I come into contact with.  I believe that my school - designed to create empowered learning experiences for all students - is changing the world.  I am inspired to participate in Breathe For Change because we share in this belief that we can change the world and understand the possibility and responsibility of changing the world through education.  I believe that practices that allow individuals to listen to themselves and others and understand their connectivity to one another and their planet are the only way to bring about change on an individual or community level.  As a life-long learner, I am inspired by the prospect of new skills and knowledge and an ongoing community focused on growth and transformation.

How would you describe yourself as an educator? What makes you special?

I am an educational leader and a positive deviant.*  I focus first on relationships: being myself and making positive connections with all learners.  I invest in and care deeply about the success of my students and my school community.  I set high expectations and empower learners to meet and exceed them.  I strive to cultivate a safe space that honors and supports each individual.   I take risks and trust the process.  I am comfortable with being uncomfortable.   I can see the big picture and the tiny details; I can see the right now needs and challenges while keeping my intention in line with our mission and vision.   I know that teaching students to live a good life is more important than any other content in my classroom.  I bring passion, kindness, gratitude, humor, intelligence and creativity to any learning experience.  As an educator, I am forever a learner.

*Note - I want to credit my Greater Madison Writing Project friends and colleagues for coining this fantastic term.

From your perspective, how does teaching wellness connect to social justice?

For students, having the skills, knowledge and abilities to cultivate and maintain a healthy and well lifestyle is not only a human right, but is key to a healthy society wherein all people can thrive.  Teaching wellness practices in public schools provides access to information and exercises that are often only available to those with the privilege, time and resources.  Additionally, in our school we work not only to educate our students, but to serve as a resource to other educational innovators and to use our work as a model for education reform.  In this regard, our mission is one of social justice.  Teaching wellness practices to educators supports them in being their healthiest and best selves thereby allowing them to better execute the important work of local teaching and regional/national/global educational change.

Breathe For Change is still accepting applications for the summer teacher training programs. If you or anyone you know is interested, more information and applications can be found here.

I am still - and probably will be for a while - waiting to hear about my application to the Fulbright-Hays Summer Seminar. So, don't hold your breath, but do keep those fingers crossed. Hopefully this is positive momentum that will just keep rollin'.

Thanks for reading!

Hello 2016!

It has been a while since I have been on the blog and figured I should attempt to start the new year off right.  So here is a series of updates and thoughts that have been rolling around my head presented for you in no particular order.  

School... 

As I write I am enjoying the tail end of a luxurious two week winter break.  I have had a fantastic break filled with reading, yoga, running, couch/dog time, friends, family, and lots of time in front of our Christmas tree which I won't take down until the very last minute.  At my school the start of winter break ends term one and the end brings the beginning of term two.  I had a nasty cold (I think everyone did) in the very last few days of school, but otherwise had a truly delightful end to all of my seminars.  I am excited to be starting a new seminar: Out in the Cold, which will focus on Wisconsin winter sports and recreation starting on Monday (tomorrow! yikes!).  This is a co-taught and intensive class that will last for the next three weeks.  Thank you, mother nature, for sending some snow in time for our seminar!

Some reflections on writing... 

I started out the school year hoping to write about once a week.  While I knew this was a bit ambitious for me, I thought it was also a good "stretch" goal.  Initially I was able to post almost every other week, and would like to recalibrate to this goal for 2016.  One of the really nice things that I noticed is that even though I haven't been able to write as much as I would have liked to, I think about writing a lot.  I really think that just having a blog has made me more mindful and reflective - which is a great gift.   One other small but cool writing challenge I have taken on with my friend Leah is a five year one line journal.  We both started on January 1 and will write one line about each day every day for the next five years.  I love looking back on my writing and think this is a great way to capture the day-to-day thoughts and events that make up our lives.  Please join us if you are interested - here is a link to the journals that Leah and I have.   

So... if you haven't been writing, what have you been doing?

Well... one of the major slowdowns in my blog writing came from some application writing that I spent a lot of time on in November and December.  I am a notorious summer-over-booker, and while I thought I had learned my lesson, two opportunities presented themselves and I could not pass up their applications.  

One of the applications I wrote went out to Breathe for Change.  I was introduced to this program last year and - at the time of learning of it - had already filled my summer with other personal and professional commitments.  Breathe for Change is an organization that improves the health of our schools and communities through yoga, mindfulness and wellness practices.  The training I applied for is scheduled for June in Madison and trains educators to become certified yoga teachers.  I am thrilled to have the opportunity to apply for this experience and am hopeful that I will be able to participate.  Becoming a certified yoga teacher is always something I thought I would do at some time and it would be extremely exciting if that time is this summer!  I don't want to get my hopes up, but I think this training and the Breathe for Change community could have a tremendously positive impact on my teaching and in my life.  I should find out if I am accepted sometime this month and will be sure to keep you posted. 

The second application that I wrote went out to the U.S. Department of Education's Fulbright-Hays 2016 Summer Seminar.  This is a big one.  The program I applied for is a five week trip to India and focuses on development, sustainability and democracy.  I know several teachers who have participated in Fulbright programs of varying lengths and in a variety of locations.  While I think I am a good candidate and am proud of my application, this is a very competitive program and would appreciate you keeping your fingers crossed, just for good measure. I am so excited about the prospect of this opportunity, but as someone who is quite good at getting her hopes up, I am trying not to get too carried away.  Unfortunately, it is going to be a while until I find out about my application, but will post an update when I hear.

Books!  

I love to read and have enjoyed some solid reading time during winter break.  A student encouraged me to read Wonder by R.J. Palacio which I am going to finish today - what took me so long to read this?!  High recommendations for this beautiful read.  I also read Monkey by Wu Ch'eng-en, a traditional Chinese folk novel and the selection for UW-Madison's Great World Text program that I will be teaching in term 3.  I also read American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang (again... not sure what took me so long to get around to this one...) which I will use as a companion text to Monkey.  Finally - and not specifically school/kid related, I read Zero Waste Home by Bea Johnson and The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard which lead me to my new year's resolution...

In 2016 I resolve to...

Before I get to that, a bit about where this resolution came from.  I am a huge fan of setting personal goals and also a huge fan of podcasts.  I have been listening to the podcast Happier by Gretchen Rubin and Elizabeth Craft.  In podcast #26 they talk about choosing a word or a mantra for your year instead of a specific resolution.  I loved this idea and have spent a lot of time thinking and journaling about what word or mantra I would choose.  Inspired by my Happiness Seminar class, I have become a critical observer of any area of my life where I sense I can bring about more happiness and the one that has been blatantly obvious is my spending and consumption.  This awareness, in combination with what I have learned from The Story of Stuff and Zero Waste Home, helped me focus on my word / mantra for 2016: less.  In 2016 I resolve to live with less, purchase less, consume less so that I might have more time, happiness and a life more in line with what I really want.  That sounds a little hippy-dippy, but wait until you see me with all of my reusable jars at the co-op :)  For me, "less" is also about "more", just a more mindful "more" than I am in the habit of.  More to come on this as I am sure it will continue to challenge me.

Thanks for reading and the happiest of new years to all of you.