We all moved to our own rhythm.
Counting with a Mala (108 Beads)
Mejin Saluting the Sun.
Ending our practice with some restorative (acro yoga) flying.
Saturday, February 05, 2011
108 Sun Salutations
Finally! The pictures from the 30th Birthday Celebration 108 Sun Salutations! Here are a few to enjoy, more on the flickr stream.
Clearing Clutter
At the beginning of January, a dear friend and colleague who was in between homes came to stay with us at SaltHouse for a few days. Feeling fatigued with the burden of being temporarily homeless and managing her belongings stored in her car, her storage unit, at friends’ homes and in her classroom, she said to us, “I want to get rid of half of my stuff, I’m tired of moving it, I want to be done with it!” This prompted a housemate to loan her the book, Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui, which my friend read in 2 evenings and I quickly read as soon as she was done with it. Inspired to take a look at our current material possession load, Grant and I woke up a Sunday in early January and started our decluttering mission.
The first step was to go over the Clutter Test together as I have paraphrased here:
Step 1: When I look at (or hold) my item, I ask 3 questions:
1) Does the item lift my energy? (Does my energy go up or down? What reactions am I feeling in my body? Trust my gut reaction)
2) Do I absolutely love this item? (Does it make me happy or sad? Does it inspire me? Do I already have enough?)
3) Is the item genuinely useful? (When did I use it last? When will I realistically use it again?)
Step 2: Repeat these words, “It is safe to let go, it is ok that we might be making a mistake in letting this item go, if so, something else will come along when we need it.”
We started easy: Clothes, Books, Magazines, Filing Cabinets, CD’s.
Next step: Old electronic devices and cameras that Grant has replaced with newer or better models, guitars, camping gear, tools and bike parts, the car, excessive worrying and too much email checking.
No, not the car.
At least not yet.
Really? the car?
A month later we are still looking at a pile of cardboard in our bedroom. (pile = boxes full of stuff that we said we don’t want anymore) The book suggests that the first time a person attempts to clear their clutter, they should just get rid of the stuff. But we are frugal here and have chosen to sell things or gift them, which means it is taking longer to actually move things out of the house. We have to get up the motivation to actually take pictures of items, write auction descriptions, and then make many trips to the post office. The latest post office run included an old cell phone that Grant just sold for more money than he purchased it for 2 years ago. Turns out this clutter clearing process has some benefits…except for that broken camera that Grant purchased, took apart to fix, and never put back together again. We’ll lose about $100, but at least the camera comes with a repair manual and all of the small pieces are taped to 8.5x11 inch paper. Want to bid?
Saturday, January 01, 2011
Hello 2011... Good bye 2010
Remember turning 27 when I did 108 Sun Salutations? Yes, we did that again this year.
Remember turning 28 when I went up to Sibley Volcanic Preserve to walk the labyrinths? Yes, we did that again this year also.
Remember turning 29 when we had that big fondue party? Yep. That was this birthday also.
Things are becoming traditional around here.
The only thing that's changing is the tens place in my age... Wait! NO MATH while on vacation!
Some of you will remember this post from the end of 2009 where I answered a few questions about my ups and downs of the finished year and then set an intention for the year ahead? You should read it again before we have a look at 2010...
First of all, God Answers Prayer. Be careful what you pray for! What was I thinking asking God to do some "rearranging"? Huh? Let's just say the last 4 months of 2010 have been filled with a little angst and dissatisfaction because of that minor "rearranging" request - which is still in the process, nothing has been placed back down yet.
My Acknowledgments...
1. Stayed with living in community even though the transition with housemates was a long and hard process lasting almost 9 months. But even with the challenges, I absolutely love living in community and would highly advise it for others!
2. I successfully completed my 6th year at my current school in East Oakland.
3. I've been taking more risks this year (as I am exploring my more playful side). I tried ecstatic dance for the first time, as well as acro yoga classes. I tried contacting some old high school friends (unsuccessfully, but I'm just proud that I got up enough courage to make the first contact!). I fully committed to the process of grieving the loss of my Dad, Grandma, and Aunt all within a 3 year time period. I started 2010 with some jewelry classes to help me engage with my hobby. I ended 2010 with starting a Stephen Ministry training program and I am actually allowing myself to dream about the future.
4. "Parenting" Ezra "Ezzy" Slash Killer Prancer Kinney. We have absolutely the most perfect kitten for us: playful, attentive, full of personality, and super sweet. She has brought us so much laughter and joy.
5. Reaching out to find a community of people outside of my school and church.
6. Embracing my enneagram path towards integration by taking risks, exploring, reaching out, learning about myself.
7. Developing skills as a worship leader at church and at SaltHouse. I would like to post some of my liturgy here in the future.
Needing to Grieve...
1. Feeling like I ended 2010 the exact same way I ended 2009, like there was no significant progress towards major life goals (although I don't know what those major life goals are...)
2. Struggling in the classroom even though I have this National Board Certification.
3. Allowing chaos at home (with housemate transitions) to bog me down.
4. Not finding a sustainable and enjoyable service to commit to, either at church or in the community, and not even having a desire for serving (it was too easy to just be comfortable staying close to home).
5. Not going further with my jewelry even though I took a couple of classes to improve my skills.
6. Letting go of the yoga teaching dream because of my fear of not being good enough, not knowing enough to be able to teach it, not practicing enough to be authentic in my teaching.
7. Not being more welcoming of people into my home.
8. Still haven't found a "tribe" and not sure if such a thing actually exists.
9. Feeling guilty around involvement at church... when I'm not there I don't want to be there. When I am there, I fully want to be involved.
10. Overall laziness in giving myself to anyone else.
What else do I have to say about 2010?
It was a year of laying low and riding out the transitions but also a year of opening up and taking some risks.
I now declare 2010 complete!!
And what about 2011?
At a friend's B-day party I drew the words "Listening" and "Learning" which did not excite me in the least since I feel like I live that already as a high school teacher. Instead I would like to welcome 2011 as the year of "Vision put into Action."
What are your answers?
Remember turning 28 when I went up to Sibley Volcanic Preserve to walk the labyrinths? Yes, we did that again this year also.
Remember turning 29 when we had that big fondue party? Yep. That was this birthday also.
Things are becoming traditional around here.
The only thing that's changing is the tens place in my age... Wait! NO MATH while on vacation!
Some of you will remember this post from the end of 2009 where I answered a few questions about my ups and downs of the finished year and then set an intention for the year ahead? You should read it again before we have a look at 2010...
First of all, God Answers Prayer. Be careful what you pray for! What was I thinking asking God to do some "rearranging"? Huh? Let's just say the last 4 months of 2010 have been filled with a little angst and dissatisfaction because of that minor "rearranging" request - which is still in the process, nothing has been placed back down yet.
My Acknowledgments...
1. Stayed with living in community even though the transition with housemates was a long and hard process lasting almost 9 months. But even with the challenges, I absolutely love living in community and would highly advise it for others!
2. I successfully completed my 6th year at my current school in East Oakland.
3. I've been taking more risks this year (as I am exploring my more playful side). I tried ecstatic dance for the first time, as well as acro yoga classes. I tried contacting some old high school friends (unsuccessfully, but I'm just proud that I got up enough courage to make the first contact!). I fully committed to the process of grieving the loss of my Dad, Grandma, and Aunt all within a 3 year time period. I started 2010 with some jewelry classes to help me engage with my hobby. I ended 2010 with starting a Stephen Ministry training program and I am actually allowing myself to dream about the future.
4. "Parenting" Ezra "Ezzy" Slash Killer Prancer Kinney. We have absolutely the most perfect kitten for us: playful, attentive, full of personality, and super sweet. She has brought us so much laughter and joy.
5. Reaching out to find a community of people outside of my school and church.
6. Embracing my enneagram path towards integration by taking risks, exploring, reaching out, learning about myself.
7. Developing skills as a worship leader at church and at SaltHouse. I would like to post some of my liturgy here in the future.
Needing to Grieve...
1. Feeling like I ended 2010 the exact same way I ended 2009, like there was no significant progress towards major life goals (although I don't know what those major life goals are...)
2. Struggling in the classroom even though I have this National Board Certification.
3. Allowing chaos at home (with housemate transitions) to bog me down.
4. Not finding a sustainable and enjoyable service to commit to, either at church or in the community, and not even having a desire for serving (it was too easy to just be comfortable staying close to home).
5. Not going further with my jewelry even though I took a couple of classes to improve my skills.
6. Letting go of the yoga teaching dream because of my fear of not being good enough, not knowing enough to be able to teach it, not practicing enough to be authentic in my teaching.
7. Not being more welcoming of people into my home.
8. Still haven't found a "tribe" and not sure if such a thing actually exists.
9. Feeling guilty around involvement at church... when I'm not there I don't want to be there. When I am there, I fully want to be involved.
10. Overall laziness in giving myself to anyone else.
What else do I have to say about 2010?
It was a year of laying low and riding out the transitions but also a year of opening up and taking some risks.
I now declare 2010 complete!!
And what about 2011?
At a friend's B-day party I drew the words "Listening" and "Learning" which did not excite me in the least since I feel like I live that already as a high school teacher. Instead I would like to welcome 2011 as the year of "Vision put into Action."
What are your answers?
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Newest Member of the Kinney Klan
How did this post never get posted? It's been sitting as a draft since June 2010!
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Spring Break 2010
Friday: Crashed after the longest 4 day week I've ever had. Holy Holy Week Batman!
Saturday: Brunch with Stephanie, Josh, and Paul, friends of Grant's from high school. A rare experience of high school memories. A brief walk through the farmer's market. We now have friends to visit in Santa Barbara - a perfect starting point for an excursion to the Channel Islands. (S&J are you ready for us in June?) Then I worked on the perfect jewelry supplies order - every thing left that I need to start soldering. However, the most important part, the solder, is backordered. Last, I made a to-do list.
Sunday: Jesus Rose from the Dead. This seems to be an annual occurrence on my Spring Break. Secular school district still follows the Christian calendar. Much celebration at FCCO, followed by a lovely dinner at Sarah Eve and Jordan's home, and then a movie with Ryan and Molly at SaltHouse.
Monday: Started with an acupuncture appointment. We're about done with my ankle, now working more intensely on sleep issues. Figured out how to back-up my phone on my computer and download podcasts to the phone. These are trivial things to most folks, but I've only recently had a reason to do this - more bus riding and opportunity to listen to podcasts! Yoga. Dinner. House meeting.
Tuesday: Cleaned the bedroom! Farmer's market and ate pie at Crixa. Then a book discussion group with Seminary of the Street on The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Clairborne.
Wednesday: Lunch with Marisa, pie at Crixa (again!), shopping for backpacking trip, yoga, dinner, dancing with Emily!
Thursday: House breakfast, acupuncture, lunch with Molly as I was cooking Dinner (early cooking because of leaving for Point Reyes backpacking Trip!)
Friday: Stroll along the beach. Sleeping in the warm afternoon sun. Reading about a revolution and contemplating my "in."
Saturday: Woke to threatening clouds and quick winds. so we packed up and headed to Bovine Bakery, then slowly made our way home to where I am currently blogging from. Tonight - Beer Revolution.
Sunday: School Work - so sad. But I feel great that I got to do so much during my break. Now, 10 more weeks of school. The count down in on.
Full Belly Farms Tour
Since oh somewhere around Spring of 2005, give or take a few months, we have been a member of the Full Belly Farms CSA (community supported agriculture). As a member, we receive a box of vegetables every Wednesday afternoon. Now that we live in SaltHouse, we get 2 boxes each week for the 6 of us.
Last month we read in the newsletter about visiting the farm for a tour. In 4+ years of getting vegetables, we never visited the farm and we thought it was about time to see where our vegetables come from.
93 miles away in perfect traffic = about 90 minutes of drive time. So easy, so beautiful, we're planning to come back in the fall for the hoes down party. Co-owner Judith was our knowledgeable tour guide. I didn't get any pictures of her, but you can find her at the Tuesday Berkeley Farmers' Market almost every week.
Oddly enough, I didn't get any pictures of the vegetables either. But they do grow them, and we de eat them every week.
I did get a picture of the chicken tractor... one of the co-owner's daughters was explaining how it works... every night the chickens go into the "tractor" for the night, then they close the doors and move the electric fence and chickens to a new field. In the morning, the chickens have a new home of fresh grasses and bugs, or whatever chickens eat.
They also lay eggs, but not enough for the CSA members to get them weekly... maybe someday.
After the tour, we enjoyed a picnic lunch. Three of us from SaltHouse were able to go (me, Grant, and Ryan). We packed a beautiful lunch - but alas, no pictures of that either.
After lunch, we wandered around looking for the creek which is one of Full Belly's water sources. On the way, we heard the cute cry of piglets - so irresistible that we had to go check them out.
oh farm life. So tempting. We're starting with our little plot of garden out in front of the house. Pictures to come of that soon... or not so soon given my track record with blogging.
Last month we read in the newsletter about visiting the farm for a tour. In 4+ years of getting vegetables, we never visited the farm and we thought it was about time to see where our vegetables come from.
93 miles away in perfect traffic = about 90 minutes of drive time. So easy, so beautiful, we're planning to come back in the fall for the hoes down party. Co-owner Judith was our knowledgeable tour guide. I didn't get any pictures of her, but you can find her at the Tuesday Berkeley Farmers' Market almost every week.
Oddly enough, I didn't get any pictures of the vegetables either. But they do grow them, and we de eat them every week.
I did get a picture of the chicken tractor... one of the co-owner's daughters was explaining how it works... every night the chickens go into the "tractor" for the night, then they close the doors and move the electric fence and chickens to a new field. In the morning, the chickens have a new home of fresh grasses and bugs, or whatever chickens eat.
They also lay eggs, but not enough for the CSA members to get them weekly... maybe someday.
After the tour, we enjoyed a picnic lunch. Three of us from SaltHouse were able to go (me, Grant, and Ryan). We packed a beautiful lunch - but alas, no pictures of that either.
After lunch, we wandered around looking for the creek which is one of Full Belly's water sources. On the way, we heard the cute cry of piglets - so irresistible that we had to go check them out.
oh farm life. So tempting. We're starting with our little plot of garden out in front of the house. Pictures to come of that soon... or not so soon given my track record with blogging.
Saturday, January 02, 2010
Goodbye 2009!
Yesterday I asked my party guests to answer 4 questions posed by a favorite blog that I read fairly often. After we noshed on the cheesy fondue and before we dug into the chocolate ice cream cake, we said goodbye to 2009 and opened up to the possibilities of 2010.
Here are my answers for the universe.
Things that I want to acknowledge about me in 2009:
1) Trusting Grant w/financial matters and allowing myself to go part-time for the 2009-2010 school year.
2) Moving into a house with 2 other couples, even though I was feeling really worried and scared
3) New level of love and commitment with my beloved partner Grant, better communication then we've ever had.
4) Understanding more of my own needs (for alone time, activities, spiritual practices, creative outlets, etc.)
5) Receiving my National Boards Certification in Adolescent and Young Adult Mathematics
6) All of the work I have done as an educator (my level of reflection, planning, and implementation), my growth as a result of my national boards work and my work with my coach.
7) Creating more creativity in my life: jewelry, painting, journaling, and home yoga practice.
8) Transitioning from "It's my job" to "It's my calling and ministry" to work with impoverished urban teens in Oakland, CA.
9) Knowing that I could be a much better teacher/leader if I worked part time.
10) Finishing my Masters Degree from National University in Instructional Leadership
Things that I grieve or need to forgive myself for:
1) Not moving more towards finding real happiness in my vocation or making goals/future plans about life in CA or elsewhere.
2) Moving was scary and hard, I grieve some independence of living by ourselves in the apartment
3) Feeling like I'm just treading water in regards to developing and sustaining spiritual practices
4) Dropping tasks at church, not being as reliable as I would have wanted to be.
5) Feeling sad because we've lived here for 5.5 years and I still don't feel like I have a real Tribe of supportive women friends and still not sure how to create that for myself.
I declare 2009 Complete! No more looking back at that vision painting that I completed back in July 2007 and feeling sorry for myself that I have not moved forward on any of the goals that I thought were on my path to full aliveness!
In 2010, I invite God to do some Rearranging. As I take a closer look at how I spend my time, what do I value, what do I think I need to live, what I think is missing from my life, what do I think I need to be happy and successful, what do I think I need to be loved and to love others, what do I think I need to give myself or give away, what I think about or focus my attention on, I invite God to come in and give me her advice because listening to the ways of this world hasn't gotten me very far.
How about you?
Here are my answers for the universe.
Things that I want to acknowledge about me in 2009:
1) Trusting Grant w/financial matters and allowing myself to go part-time for the 2009-2010 school year.
2) Moving into a house with 2 other couples, even though I was feeling really worried and scared
3) New level of love and commitment with my beloved partner Grant, better communication then we've ever had.
4) Understanding more of my own needs (for alone time, activities, spiritual practices, creative outlets, etc.)
5) Receiving my National Boards Certification in Adolescent and Young Adult Mathematics
6) All of the work I have done as an educator (my level of reflection, planning, and implementation), my growth as a result of my national boards work and my work with my coach.
7) Creating more creativity in my life: jewelry, painting, journaling, and home yoga practice.
8) Transitioning from "It's my job" to "It's my calling and ministry" to work with impoverished urban teens in Oakland, CA.
9) Knowing that I could be a much better teacher/leader if I worked part time.
10) Finishing my Masters Degree from National University in Instructional Leadership
Things that I grieve or need to forgive myself for:
1) Not moving more towards finding real happiness in my vocation or making goals/future plans about life in CA or elsewhere.
2) Moving was scary and hard, I grieve some independence of living by ourselves in the apartment
3) Feeling like I'm just treading water in regards to developing and sustaining spiritual practices
4) Dropping tasks at church, not being as reliable as I would have wanted to be.
5) Feeling sad because we've lived here for 5.5 years and I still don't feel like I have a real Tribe of supportive women friends and still not sure how to create that for myself.
I declare 2009 Complete! No more looking back at that vision painting that I completed back in July 2007 and feeling sorry for myself that I have not moved forward on any of the goals that I thought were on my path to full aliveness!
In 2010, I invite God to do some Rearranging. As I take a closer look at how I spend my time, what do I value, what do I think I need to live, what I think is missing from my life, what do I think I need to be happy and successful, what do I think I need to be loved and to love others, what do I think I need to give myself or give away, what I think about or focus my attention on, I invite God to come in and give me her advice because listening to the ways of this world hasn't gotten me very far.
How about you?
Monday, December 28, 2009
Another Year Almost Over
In about 2 weeks, I will be starting an online class called Mondo Beyondo. I will be dreaming big for 5 weeks. I'm excited and very curious. As a capricorn and a 1 (enneagram), dreaming is not easy. Hopefully this class will open up some deep reflection and inspiration! Who knows what the future will hold? I just need to allow myself to be able to vision it, to dream big and see what happens!
Yesterday, I decided that I would modify the P90X into a P30X workout program. New goal: get moving for at least 30 minutes a day. Today I was successful in getting up and doing the Cardio video first thing. Unfortunately, I pretty much bummed around the rest of the day. Still on vacation from school, so I can't do too much in one day. At least I accomplished one positive thing!
Three days ago, Grant and I celebrated Christmas by taking our dear friends to the airport at 4:45am, then came home, ate bagels with cream cheese and lox, went back to bed and watched a movie. We slept for a while, lazily got up, called the parents, and then headed over to my best friend's boyfriend's house for Christmas dinner. The day after Christmas was even better, just hanging out with Grant the entire day, playing games, watching movies, eating yummy leftovers, and enjoying our time together.
About two weeks ago, I finished the last class in my Masters of Instructional Leadership program at National University. Now I wait until I can get an official transcript that says I earned my degree so that I can take it to the HR department and get my bump on the salary schedule. Hopefully it will go into effect this year. Super bummer if I have they make me wait until next school year!
About 3 weeks ago, during a house meeting, we set up a new blog. There are not very many posts on it yet. Hopefully that will change in the new year.
About 1.5 months ago I got an email from the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards to let me know that the scores would be posted the morning of November 20, the day that we would start Thanksgiving break. I would finally know whether I had achieved boards or not. The morning came, and I checked online in between my 2nd and 3rd period classes. Yea! What a relief! I passed! I am now a National Board Certified Teacher! Now what? I would ponder this for the next month (and I am still pondering this question into the new year).
About 6 months ago, we started to earnestly look for a new house to live in. Had to have at least 3 bedrooms. If only 3 bedrooms, then it had to have two common areas that we could use for a living room and for a work space. Storage would be great. A garage would be awesome. In a good neighborhood (for my sake - I didn't want to live in the same neighborhood that I taught in). We looked at Craigslist daily (even hourly). We made phone calls to set up viewings. We drafted applications. We learned a lot about each other's financial backgrounds. We drove around. We met potential landlords. We fell in love with several houses. Then Grant and I left it all to chance (well, not chance, just deep trust of Evans and Emily, our future housemates) by starting our trip on the John Muir Trail.
Yesterday, I decided that I would modify the P90X into a P30X workout program. New goal: get moving for at least 30 minutes a day. Today I was successful in getting up and doing the Cardio video first thing. Unfortunately, I pretty much bummed around the rest of the day. Still on vacation from school, so I can't do too much in one day. At least I accomplished one positive thing!
Three days ago, Grant and I celebrated Christmas by taking our dear friends to the airport at 4:45am, then came home, ate bagels with cream cheese and lox, went back to bed and watched a movie. We slept for a while, lazily got up, called the parents, and then headed over to my best friend's boyfriend's house for Christmas dinner. The day after Christmas was even better, just hanging out with Grant the entire day, playing games, watching movies, eating yummy leftovers, and enjoying our time together.
About two weeks ago, I finished the last class in my Masters of Instructional Leadership program at National University. Now I wait until I can get an official transcript that says I earned my degree so that I can take it to the HR department and get my bump on the salary schedule. Hopefully it will go into effect this year. Super bummer if I have they make me wait until next school year!
About 3 weeks ago, during a house meeting, we set up a new blog. There are not very many posts on it yet. Hopefully that will change in the new year.
About 1.5 months ago I got an email from the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards to let me know that the scores would be posted the morning of November 20, the day that we would start Thanksgiving break. I would finally know whether I had achieved boards or not. The morning came, and I checked online in between my 2nd and 3rd period classes. Yea! What a relief! I passed! I am now a National Board Certified Teacher! Now what? I would ponder this for the next month (and I am still pondering this question into the new year).
About 6 months ago, we started to earnestly look for a new house to live in. Had to have at least 3 bedrooms. If only 3 bedrooms, then it had to have two common areas that we could use for a living room and for a work space. Storage would be great. A garage would be awesome. In a good neighborhood (for my sake - I didn't want to live in the same neighborhood that I taught in). We looked at Craigslist daily (even hourly). We made phone calls to set up viewings. We drafted applications. We learned a lot about each other's financial backgrounds. We drove around. We met potential landlords. We fell in love with several houses. Then Grant and I left it all to chance (well, not chance, just deep trust of Evans and Emily, our future housemates) by starting our trip on the John Muir Trail.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
We Learn the Most from the Challenging Situations
About a year ago, I started freaking out with the whole prospect of video taping my class for the National Board Certification. Was I crazy? Why did I pick my worst teaching year to complete this project? My most challenging kids to put on camera? Turns out that challenging students had the most interesting things to write about as I analyzed my video tapes. What could I have done better? What will I do differently next time? How did my knowledge of students affect my in the moment decisions? So many decisions, so many possibilities. What is important? The National Board process combined with challenging kids really threw me for a loop producing my second most formative year as a teacher (besides student teaching and the first year of solo teaching!). Last year, I matured more as an educator... I'm not just treading water anymore, trying to survive in the water's whim. I've built my own raft (based on content area knowledge, pedagogy, and knowledge of students) and now I am navigating the waters to where I know the river needs to go.
About 9 months ago, we had our first dinner with Evans and Emily, two folks who lived in San Anselmo at SFTS. I had never met them before and here they were walking into my apartment for dinner. We made pizza for them, they brought a salad. We had wonderful polite conversation, sipped our wine, and started to get to know each other. Evans was in the middle of his 2nd year in seminary. Emily was training to be a massage therapist. They were interesting, nice folk. Many similar beliefs and life desires. One of the best things was Emily was from Michigan, about 35 minutes from where I grew up!
About 2.5 months ago, we got our first housing rejection email. "You sound like great people, any landlord would be lucky to have you." "Too many people in the space." "This house is too old for a group, so we rented it to a small family" (as if kids running around are better than careful adults!). It was a big blow to our excitement. Back to craigslist for more houses!
Today was a good day at school. I had the students sort out 2-step equation puzzles, then we took notes on the proper steps and justifications. (properties of equality and inverses). I forgot to bring my phone numbers home... lucky for the students who I told I was going to call home on! (too much talking is the sin of the teenager, especially when they're not allowed to use their cell phones!).
About 9 months ago, we had our first dinner with Evans and Emily, two folks who lived in San Anselmo at SFTS. I had never met them before and here they were walking into my apartment for dinner. We made pizza for them, they brought a salad. We had wonderful polite conversation, sipped our wine, and started to get to know each other. Evans was in the middle of his 2nd year in seminary. Emily was training to be a massage therapist. They were interesting, nice folk. Many similar beliefs and life desires. One of the best things was Emily was from Michigan, about 35 minutes from where I grew up!
About 2.5 months ago, we got our first housing rejection email. "You sound like great people, any landlord would be lucky to have you." "Too many people in the space." "This house is too old for a group, so we rented it to a small family" (as if kids running around are better than careful adults!). It was a big blow to our excitement. Back to craigslist for more houses!
Today was a good day at school. I had the students sort out 2-step equation puzzles, then we took notes on the proper steps and justifications. (properties of equality and inverses). I forgot to bring my phone numbers home... lucky for the students who I told I was going to call home on! (too much talking is the sin of the teenager, especially when they're not allowed to use their cell phones!).
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Worlds Collide = God's Message for Work in My Life?
About two and a half years ago: Grant and I had dinner with our friend Ryan and dreamed about what it would be like to live in community. What would it be like to raise your kids with another family? To have one large nursery at first... then maybe a huge boys room and a huge girls room? (not quite like The Duggar's)
About one year ago: I was teaching a yoga class at Oakland Yoga Studio every Wednesday afternoon from 4:30-5:30pm. Grant could never come because he had a schedule conflict (school or work or something). My best friend, Marisa, was my loyal student. We spent some good quality time together. No one else seem to realize that I was teaching a class there. Hmm. The owner of the studio gave me an incredible rate. I gave myself 3 months to try it out. August, September, October... then I came to realize that the schedule was too hard to maintain. I could not run from staff meetings on Wednesday afternoons to yoga teacher mode.
About 6 months ago: I did something really crazy... I sent in my portfolio for certification with the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. This is the cream of the crop in teaching credentials. Most teacher strive to meet the minimum requirements it takes to get into the classroom legally. The national boards are for teachers who want to take their commitment to continue to grow as a professional to a new level. Only after 5 years in the classroom could I have even dreamed that something like this process would have been possible. But wow. I am certainly a better teacher for having done this... and did I mention how hard those students were last year? I'll know in December whether I passed...
Today: I attended a seminar about how I will work with an interdisciplinary team of 9th grade teachers to diagnose our students' learning needs based on inquiry of their current learning conditions and trying out new and different strategies. We do this alot anyways, but now we're talking about it as a team. We'll be tracking the progress of a select group of focus student to help us focus our work as teachers. The conversation about priviledge and oppression, and about the class and racial dynamics that take place in the classroom strangely correlate with the intercultural work that we are engaging in as a church congregation over at FCCO. Hmm. My worlds collide again.
About one year ago: I was teaching a yoga class at Oakland Yoga Studio every Wednesday afternoon from 4:30-5:30pm. Grant could never come because he had a schedule conflict (school or work or something). My best friend, Marisa, was my loyal student. We spent some good quality time together. No one else seem to realize that I was teaching a class there. Hmm. The owner of the studio gave me an incredible rate. I gave myself 3 months to try it out. August, September, October... then I came to realize that the schedule was too hard to maintain. I could not run from staff meetings on Wednesday afternoons to yoga teacher mode.
About 6 months ago: I did something really crazy... I sent in my portfolio for certification with the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. This is the cream of the crop in teaching credentials. Most teacher strive to meet the minimum requirements it takes to get into the classroom legally. The national boards are for teachers who want to take their commitment to continue to grow as a professional to a new level. Only after 5 years in the classroom could I have even dreamed that something like this process would have been possible. But wow. I am certainly a better teacher for having done this... and did I mention how hard those students were last year? I'll know in December whether I passed...
Today: I attended a seminar about how I will work with an interdisciplinary team of 9th grade teachers to diagnose our students' learning needs based on inquiry of their current learning conditions and trying out new and different strategies. We do this alot anyways, but now we're talking about it as a team. We'll be tracking the progress of a select group of focus student to help us focus our work as teachers. The conversation about priviledge and oppression, and about the class and racial dynamics that take place in the classroom strangely correlate with the intercultural work that we are engaging in as a church congregation over at FCCO. Hmm. My worlds collide again.
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