Day 1 Reflections--There is no Secret Ingredient

I did not see a teacher looking back at me. I don't really take the time to look at my present self from the perspective of my present self. I analyze and critique myself in comparison to my ideal self (I always see myself as inadequate). So this mirror activity was kinda nice and reminded me it's ok to split your ego, celebrate your awesomeness, and live in the now once in awhile. It's also fun to remember our journey and prior identities. I'm reminded of the KungFu Panda scene where Po interprets the Dragon Scroll (which always tears me up, alwayz ^_^).

"There is no secret ingredient. It's just you... To make something special you just have to believe it's special."

Today, I did not see a teacher looking back at me. I only saw "special" me.

When I was young I believed I was special because all my teachers and parents and uncles and aunties said so. "You can be anything you want to be. You're special." Then college kinda dropped a reality bomb on my illusion and I thought I wasn't special at all. But now-a-days I'm trying to redefine my ideas, my higher order premises, and reflect more on the now. Maybe I'll start carrying a mirror in my pocket as a reminder to be reflective, to believe. Actually, I think I'd carry around a gigantic mirror so I can get everyone else's reflection in there too 'cuz I'm a reflection of everyone I've met and shared an experience with and everyone is a reflection of my... Ok, I'll save the metaphysical chit chat for another time.

Getting back to what I learned today...

The discussion on assessment was terrifically fun, but I'm weird and think assessment is fun and interesting (probably because I filter out the politics and bureaucratic/ideological standardized values behind it). But the whole idea of values, like what we value in an analysis essay, was fun to interrogate. I enjoyed my small group discussion and feel more confident as an instructor knowing my values are somewhat aligned with others.

I'm very appreciative of the accelerated course discussions and workshop because I will be one of those "pilot" instructors for the Fall. I enjoyed the problem-solving aspect to the activity. It's like we're given this really tough puzzle (teach ENG-100 in 6-8 weeks while fulfilling course competencies and the 5000 word requirement and grading while staying sane) and we think-tank possible solutions. In retrospect, I should have done recon of the other tables to eavesdrop or share ideas. I would love to have a few more think-tank sessions before the Fall.

Finally (OMG he writes too much),

I really enjoyed just meeting and hanging out with other teachers. Being a dog person, I like to know who my neighbors and new friends are. I learned a lot about my colleagues and I hope someday we'll do some awesome collaborative projects together.