A look back...not too far back, though.

Turns out, I have not been able to keep up with my learning goals as I had originally intended. I have found that the responsibilities of being a teacher are getting in the way of my graduate work. That is not to say that my responsibilities as a teacher are inconvenient, but it is difficult to make time for everything going on. Because of my lack of available time: I have not kept up with my Feedly as intended, I have not completed assignments on time, and now my time spent planning for teaching is suffering. On the other hand, I have been able to keep up with my PLN and expand my Professional Network. My PLN is staying updated and looks better and better everyday! My network of professionals and organizations is growing and I am pulling more resources and ideas from it every day! Sadly, I feel that I may not be as prepared for the responsibilities assigned to me as I originally thought. This is my fourth semester of graduate school and it has been my most difficult; which is really disappointing because I actually enjoy the topics and materials more this semester than the past 2 semesters. But, with the extreme situations going on at my school, I am having to prioritize and my studies are suffering. As often seems to be the case with this class, my feelings go right along with the assignments.

I am having to develop my own growth mindset because of the challenges I am facing. Do I decide to sacrifice one area for another? Yes. Does that mean I completely abandon one and focus fully on the other, essentially giving up? No! I am challenging myself to do better and learn more. Though my graduate work is suffering, my attempts and ideas in the classroom are getting better. I am able to be a more creative teacher and provide the students with new challenges. But, as I said above, my time to plan these things is lacking. As such, they don't always have a smooth take-off and landing. Making these mistakes in both my school and my schooling is discouraging, but they allow me to learn more about myself and my abilities. It is quite the eye-opener. So, to anyone reading, keep the faith. In order to grow and become better, we have to struggle, trip, and fall before we can pick ourselves back up and be better than we were. Learn your limitations and push them to the brink. Be a better person than you were yesterday!

An additional note. I think I need to add a new goal just to make things even more complicated. I need to make a point to spend a few minutes each day working on my goals for this class. I have attempted to make time for my personal goals, my teaching goals, my life goals, but I need to add a time-slot for this class as well. Here's hoping.