It’s Sunday morning, Oscar day (my Super Bowl ), and I’m writing this post mid-flight on my way to Timmins to give a presentation tomorrow to Northeastern Catholic District School Board elementary and secondary teachers.  This is a bit of an adventure; my first time flying in nearly 10 years without my wife and missing my two little ones. I’m sure their day will be adventurous and mom will be exhausted by dinner time.

With all of this, I can’t help think of “adventure” and what it means as a classroom teacher.

As teachers we should, no, we must be adventurous! 

The scale and scope of the adventure is individualized but needs to exist. In my nearly 12 years in the profession, I’ve worked at three schools, two boards  (moves by choice ), at the system level and venture to over stretch my time and calendar in a number of initiatives and projects. Friends, family and colleagues will ask why I do all the “extras.” It’s simple : adventure.

It’s the adventure that forces me to change, meet new people, reflect on practice, adapt, modify teaching materials and ultimately recognize that without adventure, I’m failing the students in my classroom and the parents who put their trust in those of educate their kids.

As a parent of a 6 year old grade 1 daughter and a 3 year old son starting JK in September, I have an intimate appreciation, that what happens in the classroom matters. My wife and I send our little darlings off in the morning with the trust that they are not only warmly cared for but they are being provoked and challenged to be their best. With this reality, I attempt to teach as if my children were in the room. To do this, I need to be constantly growing with the adventurous spirit that allows my practice to grow.
It’s with the “adventure” as a constant that I’m sitting in a sardine of a plane with propellers radiating my ear drum, as I write the first draft of this post on my phone. It’s not for me to be away from my family for an overnight stay; I love the chaos of dinner and bedtime after a full day of school. However, I couldn’t miss the opportunity to grow with a group of teachers outside of my typical GTA driving zone. I can’t wait to hear about their realities and their stories of successes and next steps.

Tomorrow’s take away:

From technology integration to backward design, be adventurous for you and the students you serve as they need to grow into global citizens. What we do matters.