Renewal from Inside and Outside

It's been awhile since my last post, but my experiences last week impel me to be thankful for life, and to share :)

Last Thursday was our 27th wedding anniversary.  It was also the first anniversary of my breast cancer diagnosis.  I'm doing well!  So this post is about renewal; looking forward rather than back...

I just returned from a week-long program for teachers held on site at the Foxfire Center in Rabun County, GA. (I encourage you to out the links below for more info - I won't go into too much detail here ;) ):

• Foxfire
• The Foxfire Approach to Teaching

It's PURPOSE - and shouldn't everything we intend and about which we're desirous have one? - is to provide an experience that challenges teachers (and future teachers) to reflect on personal assumptions about instruction, students, curricula and standards, assessment, and current educational contexts, and to engage in consideration of - in hopes we will internalize and begin to practice - a more constructive, experiential, student-centered approach.

The facilitators are indescribably amazing (I'm so fortunate that both are professional colleagues of mine), and the company of fellow educators (pre-service Masters students, current K-12 teachers, and some from higher ed) couldn't have been better!

Intense reflection, introspection, dialog, and collaborative application took place... and many wonderful relationships were forged.  We worked both mornings and afternoons, save the morning-long guided tour of the property (artifacts and buildings on site were gathered, deconstructed if necessary, and reconstructed on site - land that was purchased in the mid-1960s, through a joint decision between a teacher and his students, with royalty money from the first Foxfire Magazine publication -- their own work!). 

A Grist Mill with unique engineering beyond my ability to explain!

The LAST REMAINING wagon used by US Federal Forces during the Trail of Tears :(

 You should surely visit if you have the opportunity!

Regardless of our "busy-ness" we had time for deep philosophical conversations, casual yummy dinners in Clayton and Dillard, laughing until we cried into the wee hours (along with more than a bit of juvenile behavior -- I know what you're thinking, Not THAT juvenile ;)), and hikes into the beautiful Appalachian Mountains.  Several of us made it deep into the lush forest to see Holcomb Creek Falls, and I kept up with some very young and fit women -- WOO HOO!

My maiden name, for those of you who are wondering!

I'll surely be a better teacher for this experience.  If you're an educator at any level, public, private, or homeschool, I highly recommend you look into participating!  The program is sometimes brought into schools through a cohort model, and I wouldn't dissuade you if you have the chance to participate locally, but I guarantee the on-site sessions are more powerful!

So enough of that!!!  

You know how you feel when someone starts raving about a personal experience like a trip, a film, or a book and you have no connection, thus NO idea what they're talking about or why it's such a big deal?  Know what I mean?  But, hey! thats EXACTLY what we do to students (often) in schools!!!  We talk about/teach stuff TO them rather than setting up opportunities for THEM to help plan and manage their OWN learning experiences!  Wanna know how (and why)?  Check out Foxfire ;)

So, that was my INTERNAL renewal!  As for the OUTSIDE -- we couldn't have had better weather, perhaps 10 or so degrees cooler than home, or a better, more fascinating guide (one of our group members who lives in the area) who graciously shared some local gems.  It felt wonderful to breath the fresh mountain air, hear the birdsong and waterfalls, and be renewed.

Now it's back to reality, where I'll strive to keep alive the fire that was kindled.
This week brings BOTH of my wonderful children's birthdays - more of life to CELEBRATE!

I do want to share this quote, from a book given to me during my meander by a dear DKG friend:

Sometimes our thoughts turn back toward a corner 

in a forest, or the end of a bank, or an orchard

powdered with flowers, seen but a single time...

yet remaining in our hearts... is not forgotten,

a feeling we have just rubbed elbows with happiness.

~Guy de Maupassant

{(Hugs)} to you, dear friends.