Foggy Morning Thoughts

Every morning, I drive the same way to work.

I turn LEFT onto Jackson.  I turn RIGHT onto Monroe.  There is one 4 way stop.  There is one stop light.  I have driven the same way now for 2 years.  With few exceptions, nothing has changed….I could almost do it with my eyes closed — but for safety reasons, I won’t.

So, this morning, I go to turn left and there is a jeep in front of me, so I wait til it turns left…..slowly.  And then I slowly — we are talking 15 miles an hour here –  follow this jeep til we get to the stop sign.  And now there are 5 more cars behind me as well.

We get to the stop sign, the jeep turns RIGHT on Nutmeg.  I go through the stop sign and resume my regular speed.

So why the slow speed of the jeep?  We had fog this morning….heavy fog.

And this fog….I am assuming the fog…..slowed the car down in front of me to a snail’s pace…a cautious pace, a “come on move mutterings from Jen” pace.

Now I know with fog, you do need to drive carefully, but this morning was just ridiculous….and as always, it caused my thoughts to turn toward the classroom.

I think there are too many teachers that are treating the new opportunities (of Tech) like heavy fog and instead of trusting that the road is the same and that the route to the final destination has not wavered, they are slowing down to an unbelievable cautious pace.

The thought of anything new entering into their classroom inhibits them to try anything new.  The thought of an outside source having any kind of effect on their classroom puts them into “danger, Will Robinson, danger” mode.

And then you put the “I know where I am going and my headlights are on so MOVE ALREADY” Tech Coordinator riding on their rear does not help probably in any way.

So how do we build up their confidence that they will trust the fact that they know where they are going even when they can’t see the way?

How do we build up their confidence to realize that blogging can be creative writing, the kidspiration can help with math skills, the comic life can be a unique way to showcase a science project, that spelling city can reinforce spelling, that ….. (I could go on and on)

I think it is okay that they slow down, turn on their lights, and progress carefully at first.  But then also to trust that they know where the final ending point is and this fog, this inability to see clearly, will lift in just a bit and they will continue on as normal, with the fog behind them, and new opportunities clearly ahead!

The car in front of me frustrated me tremendously but also made me realize that most of the teachers I work with daily and speak with often must feel like they are driving in a fog right now….and I am thinking of ways to allow them to proceed with a bit of caution but also trust themselves to DRIVE.

Just morning thoughts.
Jen