COUNTDOWN

"To live and to learn", that is an old saying that always rings true.  Life itself is a learning experience that is well beyond the walls of school, but learning in school (education) can sure make the road we go down in life smoother, straighter and help provide a pathway to somewhere wonderful!

Laying in a hospital bed, post hip surgery, I really wonder where life is taking me. I am on a countdown to retirement and now I have to factor in physical recovery along with worrying about my students and their progress through the science curriculum at school this year.  

This physical setback can throttle things for me as a professional, but it is the idea of "what is next" that now stirs my emotions.  I know what I have accomplished over the past 25 years as an educator, but now what do I want to achieve going forward as I leave the public school arena.

I entered the field of science education during a time of great need for innovative and courageous new curriculum initiatives and now I plan to leave, 25 years later, at a time of great need for science teachers to innovate and take courage!  The value society places upon the premise of "education for all", has always been a perplexing application of  reasoned logical thought that support methods and means to reach for this idealized goal.  The struggle to deliver "best practices" in science education, through guidance now provided by Next Generation Science Standards, has never been more challenging than it is today.

How we restructure our schools to accommodate learning in the 21st century, how we devise effective plans to infuse technology into the learning process and how we relate to each other in a loving manner are problems that need solutions today. Future generations of students need to be learned so they can deliver solutions that are complex, politically viable and scientifically conclusive.  A dynamic new learning environment that caters to providing students with these skills and abilities to solve problems and think critically, is an essential step toward making learning in the 21st century viable.

I have always wanted to be an agent of change in this world and teaching has been my vehicle, my means to truly express my thoughts, beliefs and understanding to a craving and dynamic audience, the youth of our country.

When I return to the classroom this semester, for the final months of this school year, I will act upon these last opportunities to influence, motivate, inspire, guide and model good behavior in the classroom, while bringing forth an impassioned cry for my students to learn, learn and learn! 

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