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A Tech Teacher on a Mission

It's Been A Minute...

3/30/2020

3 Comments

 
Hello readers (if there's even any of you left.)...

It's me, Victoria. I'm back. Mainly because there is a pandemic going on and we're all stuck at home. I feel the urge to get back into writing and sharing what is going on in my world. The weight of this is pretty heavy on all of us and I need to process this. I do that best by learning out loud. 

For those that used to follow me, a lot has happened since I wrote my last post 4 years ago, so let's take some time to get reacquainted, shall we? Since I last wrote a post in Feb of 2016, I:
  • completed my Masters of EdTech program
  • moved back to Canada from California
  • got married
  • taught Grade 6
  • had a baby
  • moved schools and started teaching Grade 7

I share these life changes because maybe it will influence whether or not you want to stick around and read my posts from here on out. The lens that one shares from is important, and knowing my professional and family context might support your decision whether to follow this blog or not. Either way, I won't be offended.

The above life events have meant a dramatic change in my role as an educator who previously made her life and work quite public. I stepped back and took a breath through these last few years. I started saying "no" to extraneous things and "yes" to the things I was more passionate about. Some days that meant saying "no" to everything to do with education and saying "yes" to everything to do with family. I started focusing inward in order to care for myself more. Some other decisions were more education-focused. For example, I moved into teaching intermediate grade levels so I'd have more breadth in my teaching experience (now I've taught Grades 1-7). These changes haven't all been easy but I've learned a lot. I'm definitely a better teacher and human than I was 4 years ago. (And shockingly, I love teaching the preteens. Who knew?)

But now, we're facing a new challenge. The challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic is calling all of us to the table who can share our our educational design knowledge, our pedagogical philosophies, our edtech knowledge. I feel that Twitter has reignited me again, in a way. I want to help solve the problems educators are facing right now.

If you're not sharing in this time of great need, I compel you to start. And no, I don't mean shoving more edtech garbage down our throats so we'll buy your product. I mean sharing to better the broader education community by collaborating with one another, sharing resources that actually make a difference, taking part in edchats, and by holding each other up. Share your challenges. Share positive stories about your practice. We need them now more than ever. As educators. As human beings.

So, here we are. I'm back to offer myself up as another human/educator/mother/friend to lean on, to ask advice of, or to generally work together. We are in this together. We can do this.
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    Victoria Olson
    A curious and passionate educator in Langley, BC

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