2014 Year in Review: An Arena Perspective

It has been five months since my first post.  Hats off to edBloggers Jon Harper, Dennis Schug, Chris Crouch, Keith Howell, Peter M. DeWitt, Seth Berg and so many others who unfailingly answer the call of “inspiring” in a perfect, seemingly random, kind of way - cerebral energy much appreciated.

Hours away from a new year, I couldn’t but sit down and take a moment.  What did I leave behind? How did I measure up? What kind of learning integrity did I exhibit?  These are tough questions to answer.  To answer them truthfully, I have to be willing to climb up a long staircase, enter the arena via the “Gate of Life” and face an expectant crowd.  As I climb, very special moments flash before me.  I have moments outside my classroom where I hugged and cried with students who confided a family situation.  I think about the students who know that they are welcomed to the half-eaten donut I was saving for later or the extra “taco” that would’ve been my breakfast.  Can’t help but smile when I hear former students tell my students this year, “Mrs. Bolado can do anything.”  I often wonder where they get that from.  I try to correct their choice of words – as I certainly “can’t do everything”. But in their eyes, I can.  I got this reputation during the first half of the year.  I accompanied my all-lady STEM team to the White House.  A very proud Resaca Middle School planted its flag in Washington, before education giants like Arne Duncan, Charles M. Bolden and the President of the United States.  Later in the year, we were honored during the LCLAA Convention (Labor Council for the Latin American Advancement).  Top honorees received plaques for their dauntless work in unions.  One in particular addressed my ladies and said, “Your presence here is proof that our work has not been in vain!” The pride that overwhelmed our table is something I can’t articulate into words yet.  (You would have been proud, Mr. Jimmy Casas.)

The untraditional teaching approach was and continues to be a big hit in my classroom.  I can tell by the high-fives and fist bumps in between classes. Project-delivery is always an exciting time.  Their faces, their presentations, their videos – all created with me in mind.  I forget I have to give grades.  They are all winners, even the team of boys who decided that tennis shoes could be hung in such a way to create pendulum motion.  This is how they make my day, every day.  Frame by frame – these are the moments and emotions that have accumulated month after month.
So - at the top of the stairs, about to go out and face the crowd in 2015.  Truthfully, I am happy with who   I was to my students.  I am happy about the giving spirit I carried inside.  I learned, failed, and re-learned to be better for those under my watch.  But honestly, [and they don’t know it yet] I am going to take them higher.  This is not your floor, Resaca.  Maybe the kids are right.  Maybe we CAN do everything, together.  The crowd that is expecting us can be dubious, but our fighting spirit remains undaunted.   

I hear their chants and applause, that’s our cue.  Let’s go.

Dedicated to my #GatorTribe:

Asael Ruvalcaba, Carlos Lainez, & Leticia Rodriguez, #KeepFightingTheGoodFight

First Blog. Ever.

So I’m sitting down going through Twitter edfeed on a particular evening last fall.  “Twitter is a great PD tool.” My Principal had encouraged its use among staff and preached its worth from day one.  As any new teacher, in a brand new district – you are inclined to give things a shot.  A new classroom motions a thousand butterflies into your head and invites ten thousand into your stomach.  Armed with a glue gun and distinct wallpaper – I had committed myself, very early on, to making a difference in this campus.  I had never taught middle school before, but I kept telling myself, “how different could sixth grade be from fifth?”  Back to TweetDeck.  I ran into a tweet from Verizon Foundation back in September.  “Win $20,000 for your school” were the twenty seven characters that stood out.  It had taken me a few weeks to figure out that my grade level was in need of some tech.  The winning team was to produce an app concept that would solve a problem in respective campus or community.  I thought about it for a good 5 minutes and plunged into the application process.  I had never sponsored anything before.  Not the cheerleading squad, nor a chess team, much less a national competition.  It sounded really good in my head, and yet I couldn’t get word out to my Principal for 3 weeks. I was a new hire, you see.  New hires are supposed to fly under the radar, listening and learning from veteran teachers - not spearheading such high-profile activities.  I did, however, feel a difference in this campus.  The air was different here.  Administration was different.  A wonderful, open-minded people whose strategy was to bring change by pushing the envelope (and the box).  Armed with a little more than my glue gun this time, I marched in.  His “Let’s do it!” became the locus point of where the pebble hit the water.  I sponsored 5 teams on this App Challenge (rookie undertaking), and one of my teams received a Best-In-Nation Award for producing an app that assists the visually-impaired in the navigation of a building.  Our campus received an invite from the White House in May and the completed app was presented to President Barack Obama at the White House National Science Fair.  One of my proudest moments as an educator was hearing POTUS pronounce “Resaca Middle School” as he commended my all-lady team during opening presidential remarks.  We also had the opportunity to speak with Google about our project and were invited to tour a few of their campuses in California this past June.  I had no idea how pronouncing the words, “What do you think about Resaca participating in…” would change my life.  Newspapers and reporters will never be able to quantify the positive effects exerted onto a campus and a community due to the concentric circles rippling out.  What’s my takeaway?  Being fearless changes the direction immediately.  Being fearless sees an impact opportunity and seizes it.  We are all better professionals, better people - because of dreamers.  Thank you Verizon Foundation.  Thank you Gator Administration.  All past and forth-coming accolades are dedicated to you.  You saw something in me that I hadn’t seen in myself.