Maybe I Don't Want To Know...

I don't do "resolutions" normally, never have really. This year I hit the ground in Mountain Village with a burning desire to be organized and more prepared than ever before. For example, I decided to keep track of all returns from technology vendors so I know when and where replacement parts for all ten sites are at all times.

I am also focusing on keeping better records of my travel. In the 2012 calendar year I actually made MVP with Alaska Airlines, but I only enjoyed it for 9 days! This year I am keeping a spreadsheet of all of my chartered flights around the district. All things the same, it should put me over the top in the fall time and ripe for MVP access during the holidays. Bring on the short lines and free upgrades! 

I digress, there are some things I have decided to keep track of that are less important than RMA's and less exciting than MVP... like the frequency of running water in my Mountain Village home. I started a Google calendar to keep track of the days the village was without water and the days which my water was frozen do to a lack of proper insulation and heat trace. So far it is 22 days in a row... maybe I should quit counting. 

No Mountains in Mountain Village

Hoping for a chance to play in the snow and enjoy the few hours of daylight we get here in the far north, I sent out my snowboard and boots to my second home in Mountain Village. With a name like Mountain Village one would think that with a little snow it shape up to be paradise for a fan of winter sports. 

Unfortunately Mountain Village is home only to a small hill we affectionately refer to as Cupcake. Hoping to make the best of it I tried getting a lift up the hill on a friends four-wheeler. Only making it part of the way up, I decided to board down with a headlamp in the dark. Riding through the trail was tough but fun, but eventually I made it to the road. Picking up some serious speed at the road I flew down until it was simply too dangerous to continue. Too dangerous to maneuver  but not too dangerous to hold on to a four-wheeler and ride back to the house on the slick ice!

This morning I woke up hoping to better the previous evenings adventure and find some hills to carve. After a few hours I gave up, but not before trying towing, riding backwards on a snowgo, balancing on the front ski, board attached to my feet, and hopping from berm to berm like a jack... rabbit. 

Here is a cute video if you are interested: 

I Am A Teacher In Alaska

Recently the State of Alaska's Department of Education had a brilliant idea to encourage teachers around the state to share their experiences with the world. I took up the challenge and create a video or two. I thought I would post it here for fun along with some encouragement for you to make one yourself. Telling your story is not only a healthy expression of your own self worth, but also a great way to encourage others. 

If you are looking for a way to make the work you do worth something more extrinsic  then check out the following flyers and links for simple contest and sharing ideas: 

http://aste.org/download/275/13_ididacontest_poster.pdf

Giving Thanks

Always one to make the best of every situation, I recently planned a medical trip to Houston from good old Alaska. Understanding that surgery would require a brief period of inactivity and probably needing some help while recuperating. Deciding on the days before the Thanksgiving holiday, I made the 14 hour treck down to the warm and sunny Houston, TX the Saturday prior to the holiday. 

Arrival was a treat in the 75 degree temperatures and flip flops were so freeing! My wonderful father met me at the airport and insisted I borrow his car for the week I would be in the region. Catching up on some father-son time, we eventually made it to his south Houston home and met with my kind and welcoming step mother. 

My Dad passed on genes of wonderlust, courage, and a healthy love of toys. Translation, we took the bikes out for a spin. My dad loves his Spyder, and I can see why. It is totally decked out and I think it has everything except a seatbelt and air conditioning! I prefer the Moto Guzzi, myself...

Meeting up with my mother, sisters, brother-in-law, grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins in Louisiana I enjoyed the home cooking I missed oh so much. Granny and her girls made us a feast of turkey and fixings along with the devil's deserts (adding about five pounds to my waist). Football, family and fun is my idea of a good time, even if I was laid up on the couch or forced to sit the whole time.

After a week in the presence of my loving family it was hard to say goodbye. I am a blessed man. 

November Already!?

This time of year amazes me every time... With everyone ramping up in schools, conferences happening, and sports fever across the tundra, I haven't had too much time to sit, much less write. Lets see what I missed.

October included visits to Alakanuk, Emmonak, Marshall, Russian Mission, Nunam Iqua, and Scammon Bay. I had a blast, taught a few days, worked with some great teachers, and observed communities on the up and up. I think LYSD is a happier place than it has been. I think the teachers are more effective. I think the students are learning more. Could we do better? Without a doubt. The groundwork has been laid, though. It's time to harvest...

After a few weeks on the road I was lucky to be invited to the Career and Technical Education Conference in Anchorage. While there I facilitated and co-presented several sessions at the downtown Marriott  What a great meeting of minds! I was so happy to learn from a world-famous Google certified trainer and Apple Distinguished Educator. Also in attendance were members of a recently graduated PhD cohort sharing results from their studies of Alaskan technology in education. I learned a lot and had some of the most meaningful conversations I have had in a long while.

Back in the Bush, I have since been in Kotlik. With beautiful  cold days, full of color at dawn and fiery sunsets, the travel seems a little easier these days. Tomorrow I will be off to Alakanuk, then Hooper Bay until Friday. Tired as I may get, I can never say no to a trip promising progress. Making a difference, that's what its all about.

Perhaps I am positive for a different reason these days... perhaps it's because I don't have anymore homework to do for a while. Finishing a Master's (finally) is so refreshing. Done. ~whew~ Now to find a PhD Program.

To Teach is to Change Lives...

Getting started on another month-long stint of travel, I look forward to the blessing of seeing the colors of the leaves (where there are trees) and the tundra of western Alaska change from the air. Tomorrow wraps up a week in Alakanuk and Emmonak and Sunday starts a week of Marshall and Russian Mission. 

From the delta to the interior, the climate, culture, and communities change in a variety of ways. I look forward to seeing Marshall teachers for the first time this year at their sites and Raiders for the second and even third time this year. With winter approaching the Upriver sites will be bathed in gold, orange, and brilliant reds as trees shed their summer coats of green and hunker down for the cold. 

I have to say things have taken a turn for the better here in LYSD. The new teachers this year are, by and large, phenomenal educators and genuinely wonderful people. I say this not just because I have been cooked for or shared a meal with every night this week, but because they are truly special individuals. Their passion is obvious and their spirit is inspiring.

With all the shake-ups in the district office of late, I feel as though the norm across the district has been to follow their own lead and take initiative to be autonomous to a certain extent. I like the idea of this, and I love the idea of home-grown concepts. My role, namely in the realm of staff development and facilitator of LYSD resources, has become more substantial than ever. I feel well received and useful, not intrusive or unwelcome.

I thank my LYSD team of teachers for all they do. I thank them for their time spent planning brilliant lessons. I thank them for the hours outside of the "workday" tutoring, coaching, mentoring, and writing grants. I thank them for their patience with wild third graders and mothering kindergarteners. I thank them for being the teachers I look up to and always wanted to be. You are so special... to me... to your students... to your communities... thank you.

Busy is as busy does...

I am so stinking busy!! 

I am finishing my Master's this month, so that's a bright spot on the horizon, but then I will just start shopping and stressing about a PhD program to attend, so... bleh... 

I am finalizing a few big projects at work and look forward to getting a literacy cart prototype built and tested. Very cool!  

 >>> Flatscreen interactive display on 5 foot rolling cart with Mac Mini, battery backup, Apple TV, 20 iPads, all the accessories, and maybe a charging station (eventually)<<<

Basically I get to sleep in my own bed for a week, assuming I can find the time to sleep... 

Let's summarize. I travelled to 6 villages in September after returning from Puerto Vallarta, jumped back into travel visiting Nunam Iqua, Alakanuk, Pilot Station, Kotlik, Scammon Bay, and ended up in Hooper Bay. All staff inservice was a blast! LYSD friends and coworkers spent Wednesday night - Friday afternoon together learning how to be a better team and serve our students more effectively, then headed home to respective sites. I then hosted two wonderful friends for a site tech inservice over the weekend. Since then I have started my days at the Mountain Village School every morning and then off to the office to slave away until 5:30, 6, or even 7pm, often with no breaks, even for lunch! -Whew. 

So whats the upside? I LOVE WORKING WITH TEACHERS. I generally love my job, as well, even if their are several details I could stand changing... 

All I can do is look forward to the winter when the pace of life seems to slow as the temperature drops. I ache for a regular workout routine and quiet "me time." It doesn't hurt that I have tickets to Maui hanging on the wall in front of my desk at work either.