For Me

On the last day of my class today, we did a touchy-feely activity which was really interesting and cool. It was called "Gratitudes" and each person in our group was asked to thank people in the group, individuals, for something specific. I thanked someone for saying to me that adults were allowed to change and grow, to give my colleagues the benefit of the doubt. I thanked another person for being deliberate and thoughtful. I thanked a third person for stretching their comfort level and trying new things.

It's fascinating to be thanked for something that you think of as just integral to your person. I'm writing this down so that I remember the good things that other people told me, not to brag. I was thanked for volunteering to go first, being enthusiastic and supportive, engaging in "teacher heroics," and one person thanked me for being someone that she wanted to be like.

My group also developed this strange (to me) affinity for these noises I was making while in discussion with others. Sometimes a funny little noise made more sense than words. It's an impulse that I usually don't give in to, especially in professional situations, as it's not entirely typical professional behavior. But it's fun to do and everyone understands the unspoken expressed in those sounds. It's something that I think I gave in to this week because I was so far geographically from my professional home base.

I have a plan for implementing the professional learning community and I'm hoping that I can keep an element of the fun I re-found in myself this week too.