Still learning...

26 days since my last entry?! Gosh... sorry.

I feel like I am still learning a lot.

I had an early interest in learning.  I remember really wanting to learn how to read and that sense of accomplishment when I read my first book: "The Foot Book" by Dr. Seuss. I remember finding a fourth grade text book when I was in third grade and challenging myself to complete all the chapters in the book just for fun.

However, I feel like there was a lot of learning because I had to learn.  I was expected to learn and not wanting to disappoint, I did.  I did well in high school to get to college.  I did well in college to get to grad school.  I always knew I wanted to be a teacher, so I went through the motions.  Now don't get me wrong, I learned a lot as a result of all this education.  But I still remember struggling through picking a grad program and landing on something that truly interested me: Education Technology.

For the first time in a long time, I was learning what I wanted to learn.  My one professor exposed us to a myriad of topics, allowing us to explore on our own, pursuing those topics that interested us the most.  One day I stepped aside.  I was floored at how much I was absorbing, all because I really wanted to learn!

I feel like this year, for the first time, I am learning about Catholicism.  I am learning about spirituality.  I am doing so because I am on my own terms.  I have come to a point in my life where I can take the time and learn.  I'm learning how to bring personal prayer into my life.  I am learning more about my religion and the Dominican spirituality.  I am learning how to keep the Gospel alive in my work, in my community life, in my study, and in my life.  And I still have SO much more to learn.

I learn so much every day from my ministry site.  I am finally a teacher.  I am learning how to maintain my effectiveness as an educator.  I am learning because I want to learn.  I signed up for a number of professional development workshops.  I am reading blogs about technological topics and learning how I can apply them to my teaching.  I took online classes on how to use the Promethean boards and the little gadgets that go with them.  I am learning what I have to teach. I am learning how to teach technology/computers, how to be a resource room teacher, how to teach Early Education and Kindergarten and 7th and 8th grade.  I am learning how to teach enrichment.  All skills I didn't learn in school, but am learning through doing.  This volunteer work is shaping up to be a transformative experience.

Everyday I am learning something new.  Not just something.  Many things.  Every day I learn so many things - how to cook, how to get from point A to point B in Chicago, how to promote peace, how to live more simply, how to be environmentally friendly, how to brighten someone's day, how to say something new in Spanish, and so much more.  All of these life lessons are invaluable. And I wouldn't trade them for the world.