In our profession there are too few opportunities to share and support one another, to simply listen to one another's stories. There have been no models for self-care, and although we have the time built into our school year for renewal, many teachers I know refer to summer break as a time for deep recovery, not renewal. I am interested in participating in the process of discovery that is being offered through this program. Back to the top of the page. One of my most treasured shifts in thought that has occurred as a result of CTT is that before I believed reflection was something I wanted to be able to do but couldn't always find time for - now I realize that reflection is not something that can be pushed to the last priority.
Reflection is the lifeline, the motivator, the encourager.
I need to feel calm and steady to be at my best as a teacher. If I get caught up in the frantic swirl of school life, of bells and telephones ringing, of kids arguing or crying, I lose the capacity to be fully present. The best teaching requires of me a fluid improvisation where I am not only well-prepared and in command of tools, skills and focus, but where I am equally in tune with the immediate needs of my students and the ways to reach them. My best teaching comes from a calm and confident center and the Courage to Teach weekends nurture that part of my life. I teach who I am.