Saturday, October 1, 2011

Wow!!! Intercession came fast. Time is passing quickly. So much to learn. Although we are getting a break from the rigors of school work here at The Academy of Hope, it doesn't mean we shouldn't stay focused on learning. There is so much to learn about in the world around us that can help in our everyday lives. The local library is a great place to extend the learning. When I get back from Seattle, one of the first things I plan to do is stop by the library to return some great books I used in the classroom for Read Alouds and for students to browze and to check out some different ones I can use for the next few weeks. While here on the Pacific Northwest Coast, I discovered so many new things...like, did you know that the average adult seagull here is over three times the size of the average adult seagull on our Southeast Coast? And, did you know that there are humongous sea anemones and starfish huddled all along the docking areas, along with varying sizes of jellyfish? These are all highly visible with the naked eye from the piers, which are lined with sea vessels, personal watercraft and ferries of different sizes. Speaking of ferries, I also learned that people living around Puget Sound use ferries to travel to and from school, work and from one city to another by using ferries; some people not only get on the ferries to travel from, say, Port Orchard to Seattle, but also to put their car or truck on one of the decks of the larger ferries to have it taken across the water to that same destination as well. Learning of these things make me reflect on how easy it is to take for granted that what we know as our customary way of life and the way it looks, and how we may feel about it just may not be considered normal somewhere else in our country. How does knowing this help us in our everyday lives? Well, when we consider that what is "normal" for us may not be normal for someone sitting next to us at church, the movie theatre or standing behind us in the checkout lane at the grocery store (because that person may be from another part of the US or world, for that matter, or it may be that this person has been raised with different beliefs or feelings about something), it causes us to think twice before forming an opinion. It causes us to think "outside the box". Thinking outside the box is what we all need to begin to do more often; to consider that there are many possibilities, or phrased in the academic sense, many "right answers", not just the one we are familiar with. Being with my husband and one of my sons here at this very point in time and seeing and hearing their very enlightening commentaries helped remind me that it is always important to "think outside the box". Thanks, guys. It is something I will take back with me to my classroom at The Academy of Hope. I'm pretty sure it will help me be a better educator for my world-class students.

This is an entrance to a restaurant in the Pacific Northwest; most of the area is "different" just like this entrance!