senoracmt

The good, the bad, and the wonderful: 2017

 

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Sr. Wooly caught this image of me just before break in December…  Oh wait, that’s a video screenshot… but still, that’s how I felt!  It was time for a break!

2017 was a great year… but don’t forget, as you return to work looking ahead to 2018, that even an overall great year can have some HUGE bumps in the road!

Highlights: I finished my first year at a new school and started my second year!  I went to  Ecuador and the Galapagos with the amazing Kara Jacobs and had so.much.fun.  I went to iFLT, to ICTFL, keynoted WAFLT and CIIA, went to CSCTFL and ACTFL… I got National Geographic Educator Certification.  I sent my daughter to Spain for a semester abroad.  My son is getting better at both piano and guitar… and I had my 23rd anniversary!  What a year!

But with all the good came a big bump.  I wrote something.  Something I really loved.  It was a project I let myself get too close to!  Let me assure you, we can get WAY too close to our own work!  I thought it was the best thing I ever wrote and it was a stinker!! Seeing it in its finished form and then realizing it was not good enough for YOU to see in its finished form really made me feel bad about myself as an author!  But you know what?  I put it away.  I dropped it into the folder with such fascinating titles as “Bianca Nieves y Sábado” and “La Invasión”… the folder where things go to die!  And I put my heart into getting my Nat Geo certification… and slowly the funk is lifting! 🙂  It isn’t easy to see things we care about go down in a blaze of glory but it is so important!  Without these failures, we never grow!  Oh and that highlight of my daughter going to Spain… also a bump!  I miss her.  Come home, daughter! (Jan 12 is still so far away).

So please remember that for every huge success you have this year, there might be an accompanying huge fail!  Go back to your room in 2018 with a renewed desire to pick yourself up when things don’t turn out like you imagined!

“I know the plans I have for you…” Our plans are not always the right plans!

Happy New Year, friends!  Looking forward to seeing you at iFLT, CSCTFL, ICTFL, ACTFL…  Be there!

Published by senoracmt

I began teaching Spanish in Illinois in 1994. I have taught levels 1-4 in a small rural high school, 8th grade introductory Spanish, Biology 1, and 101 and 102 at the community college level. My Spanish classes are partnered with the community college to offer students 8 semester hours of dual credit on completion of Spanish 4. In 2011 I met Carol Gaab and Kristy Placido and have since co-authored the book "La hija del sastre" with Carol Gaab and authored the novels "La Calaca Alegre", "Bianca Nieves y los 7 toritos." "Vector," "48 horas","Bananas", "Sostenible", and "Papálotl" through Fluency Matters. In 2006 I became National Board certified and I have been serving as a mentor both for candidates seeking certification in world languages other than English and a virtual mentor for candidates in all certificate areas. I completed my Masters degree in Spanish education in 2011 and did my research on the use of Understanding by Design to create meaningful cultural units for the language classroom. I am a frequent presenter on this topic, please consider me if you are interested in a workshop on backward design. In 2013 I was named the ICTFL Foreign Language teacher of the year and in 2014 I was selected as CSCTFL's teacher of the year. In November of 2014 I was lucky enough to be one of the five finalists for the ACTFL National Teacher of the Year in San Antonio, TX. What a "Cinderella" experience! You can reach me via email at carrie at somewheretoshare dot com.

2 comments

  1. Hello Carrie, thank you for your honesty and willingness to share (well, you did call this Somewhere to Share, right?) the truth that we all have ups and downs in all parts of our lives. We can and will keep going with renewed spirits! ❤️🔆💥 Happy New Year! Becky

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