1.01.2014

Believe in the Best

I'm still trying to figure out the whole online professional learning network culture thing. I have these ideas of how I want things to be, or how I believe they should be, and become quickly frustrated when 1) Reality proves otherwise; and 2) I can't figure out how to adjust one or the other to make it work. For instance, Twitter is a tough love for me: I don't have much patience to filter through pictures of people's lunch or kids to find gems for my classroom. But I keeping reading and hearing about how powerful a PLN tool it can be, so I am trying to keep an open mind. 

This is where Sergio at Call Me Coach V really drives me nuts because not only does he regularly post pictures of his admittedly adorable son on his twitter, but he also tagged me in one of those pass it on questionaries from my adolescences. Doesn't he get it? My blog is supposed to be professional! How am I supposed to be the vision of a game changing educator I have for myself when he is asking me "Michael Jackson or Madonna?". This is the guy who is supposed to be bringing me into a PLN, not destroying it! And then it hit me: this guy is trying to bring me into a PLN. Maybe I need a different perspective on PLN culture...

My mantra for 2014 is to "Believe in the Best". Believe in the best for myself, believe in the best for the people around me. It is going to be the first thing I tell myself when I wake up, the last thing tell myself before I go to bed, and something I am going to try to reframe my perspectives in this new & exciting year. So in the spirit of believing the best, I'm going to give this a try. After all, you do silly things in the classroom to build relationships. Why not in a blog as well? I won't be hurt if you stop reading here :) If not, read on see my silly responses to his Sunshine Post:

11 Random facts about myself:
  1. I don't like raspberries. Blackberries, blueberries, strawberries are all good. Raspberries are awful. In all forms. Even though I love to eat, and eat a lot, raspberries are a non-starter.
  2. I have a bucket list and I try to accomplish at least one a year. In 2013 I ran a sub 2hr half marathon. In 2014 I hope to learn to surf, and maybe get 6 pack abs. In 2015 I hope to run Boston Qualifying time  (3hr 30 min) for a full marathon. 
  3. I haven't been athletic or fit my whole life. I came into running 6 years ago to manage depression and get ready for a wedding (not mine), and I've been doing it ever since. Now I'm kinda crazy about it.
  4. I ran the Boston Marathon in 2011, but not because I qualified with a fast time. I won an essay contest on a blog and had my entry sponsored. The Boston Marathon had been the one of the top 3 biggest influences on my life.
  5. I majored in Religious Studies at Chico State. Most people who know me as a math teacher are really surprised and sometimes intrigued to learn this.
  6. Although I was baptized Free  Methodist, I most closely identify with Zen Buddhism and practice regularly but independently.
  7. I have no tolerance for violence and I find graphic violence and excessively crude programs deeply upsetting. Because of this, I rarely watch TV. I only have internet, no TV programming at home so I control what I am exposed to. 
  8. My mom is my best friend. She is the most impressive woman I will ever know and I strive to possess even a fraction of the strength and grace she has modeled throughout her life. She is truly incredible.
  9. For a long time, I wasn't sure I wanted children of my own. Now I know I really would love to have a daughter. That really makes the whole kids thing complicated...
  10. My parents save the Sudoku and Kakuro puzzles from the paper for me every day, even though they only see me a couple times a year. I love them so much (My parents, but I really like the puzzles too).
  11. People come up to me often and believe I am someone else. I get called Jennifer a lot, but also Lauren or Stacy. I've even recently been asked if I have been on TV or if I am a celebrity. I must have a pretty convincing doppelganger out there, or maybe I am more warm & inviting than I perceive myself to me. Or maybe I am just too WASPy.
Sergio's Questions:



  1. Best moment of 2013? When it became 2014? 2013 was a horrid year. The best moment was finishing the Rock n Roll San Jose Half Marathon in under 2 hours. I felt like a real runner, even though I'd been running for 6 years.
  2. Michael Jackson or Madonna...why? No, seriously, why? I pick neither. I've been told this is an essential question, so I have revised my answer to Prince. 
  3. Why did you get into education and what keeps you there? I knew I loved helping people learn early on and I wanted to do something that made a significant positive difference in the lives of others. I wanted to make up for all the teachers that failed my brother while he was in school, and that is a big part of what keeps me there. I know teachers make a difference.
  4. What is something you have done/made/accomplished, that you are most proud of? I am the first person in my family to earn a Master's Degree. I'm also really proud to have completed 4 marathons. Both have changed who I am as a person.
  5. If you were not in education, what would you be doing instead? Counseling & Psychology? I can barely remember life before my career switch.
  6. Best "moment" in your career as a teacher/leader? Notes from low and middle achieving students telling me they like math for the first time ever. When kid who is barely passing tells me they like proofs. It's teacher crack.
  7. Best gift you ever gave someone? Taking my mom to Pt Reyes for her birthday. One of the best weekends i've ever had in my life. I love her!
  8. Share something charming/weird about your family: We like to scare each other. We hide scary masks in weird places and hide in dark places to jump out and terrify one another. I once hid in a coffee table so I could pop out and scare my mom. She returned the gift with a scary clown mask in my closet.
  9.  What is your best personal gift/quality/strength? Perseverance and determination. When I set my mind to something, I do it and I do it well. It's all or nothing.
  10. #bestdayever? Running the Boston Marathon with a qualifying time , then celebrating after with my family and my boston peeps, chocolate milk and beer. Everything I love in one place!
  11. What are you most excited for when you think of 2014? Changing the way I play the education game. I'm ready to rub shoulders and make make a splash with the movers and shakers of math education. I'm ready to love what I do, believe I am good at it, and not let anyone convince me otherwise.


11 bloggers I'd like to know more about:

Sarah Rubin (I want to be meet her!)

(OK, it's only 3 because I'm still figuring this all out. But at least it is 3!)

Questions/Statements for my bloggers:

  1. If you could teach in a different subject area, what would it be?
  2. Public education or private education?
  3. If you had to make a New Year's resolution for your classroom, what would it be?
  4. Share someone/something that allowed you to view yourself differently.
  5. Funniest slip up you've ever made in front of your students?
  6. Eat out or eat in?
  7. Favorite blog you've been reading and why.
  8. What's the best professional development experience you've had an what made it so great?
  9. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
  10. What song best describes you, as a teacher?
  11. Favorite book of all time.

Here is your Task
  1. Acknowledge the nominating blogger.
  2. Share 11 random facts about yourself.
  3. Answer the 11 questions the nominating blogger has created for you (see below).
  4. List 11 bloggers ( I don't know 11 bloggers so I tried my best)
  5. Post 11 questions for the bloggers you nominate to answer, and let all the bloggers know they have been nominated. Don’t nominate a blogger who has nominated you

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