Day 3:

“If for any reason there is a change in the cabin pressure, an oxygen mask will be dislodged from the overhead compartment.  Please ensure that you adjust your mask first before helping others”.    In thinking about this perpetually shared safety message, I couldn’t help but make some comparisons between the need to ensure that we, as educators are taking care of our own intake of a learning diet in order to properly support the learning of our students.

This morning, as I was listening to my latest audiobook, I became enthralled with the melodic cadence that the author was using and her command of the English language as she was describing scenes which were so realistic that one could smell the dampness in the old boathouse and taste the sardines on saltines that the main character was inhaling.  It became apparent to me that by listening to other authors, my repertoire of phrases and symbolism was being expanded and stored in my memory bank ~ to be retrieved one day when communicating an idea. As educators, we want to ensure that our learning environments are rich in literacies for our students to access.  But more importantly than just providing a literacy rich environment for our students, we need to be enriching our own literacy diets.  What are we reading (both for pleasure and professionally), what are we watching, what are we listening to, who are we engaging in conversations with and what are we writing about?   When we think about our professional learning needs and how meeting those needs impacts our students, what are the essential components?   Do they change over the course of our career?  Do they change as we transition roles?

Inhale, breathe deeply and reflect on your learning diet.

Come write with me…..