Trying, Yet Exciting Times

Week 3 has seen some trying, yet exciting times in Research 5301 for my Lamar course. The trying time was narrowing down my topic and deciding on one. I had several that I wanted to do, but spent some Skype conversations with emails here and there with my site mentor, before deciding on this inquiry: "How does the integration of 21st century skills impact student achievement and how can we motivate teachers to create this environment in their teaching and learning? My exciting time was starting back to work and seeing our textbook "Examining What We Do to Improve Our Schools" by Sandra Harris, Stacey Edmonson, & Julie Combs on my director's desk! I had to do a double take and wondered how my book ended up there. My director shared that they all received a copy during their Administration Retreat and said that Sandra Harris spoke at the event. Who would have guessed that? I am happy that I will be able to collaborate with her on some of the points that were made in the text. I love the quotes that she shared on the page one. "We must exchange the philosophy of excuse for the philosophy of responsibility." by U.S. Congresswoman, Barbara Jordan. The other one is used by Lou Holtz, the NCAA Football and NFL head coach and can be applied to any activity. "We aren't where we want to be, we aren't where we ought to be, but thank goodness, we aren't where we used to be." This quote makes me think of my battle with non-Hodgkins lymphoma this past year. Like I said, it can relate to any place in your life. Until next time . . .