Persistence

At this time of the term, I'm having to model for my students what persistence really looks like.  It's hard to keep up with everything.  It's hard to be patient.  It's hard to feel like we're moving forward when there's so much to do.  But we are moving forward.

I have to persist in trying to find time for everything though.

I had two blocks of release today.  And although I got lots done, there are always more needs that keep popping up - more to keep up with - more to feed back to people about, more to teach and infinitely more to learn.

It's cool though, that in my job I am actually learning loads - and it's compulsory.

My priorities are challenging:
Meeting the needs of a highly challenging class.  I think they're wonderful.  I still find them challenging  - daily.
Meeting the needs in my role as a practicing facilitator of e-learning for my kids.
Finding ways to get e-learning to be practical and useful for them.
Meeting the needs of whanau around my core group of learners.
Meeting the needs of the school in terms of e-learning, when we are still relatively new to the opportunities around us.  Digital learning has been taking place for years.  I wonder if it's ever been so accountable and had such high expectations placed on in - to be the be-all and end-all of everything.

So I persist.

I persist in filling in endless forms and records around my kids.  Having endless meetings with specialists and parents, conducting endless Reflection Room visits and having many conversations with students about their choices.

I persist in trying to find time for e-learning myself.  To be able to back up what I'm saying with pedagogical evidence of what I'm doing!  It's all urgent and busy and requires patience and persistence.  I'll get there.

In the process, I'm learning what if feels like to be the real learner again - out of depth and frustrated with high expectations and too little time to make sense of it all, but persisting in embracing that feeling.  Because it's what my kids feel.  I'll have to throw up my hands occasionally, like them and say, "Miss! I'm in the pit! And I'm learning!"