The days are starting to get shorter and stationary is starting to be bought which depending on your point of view is either the end of the holidays or the start of a new school year.
I’m going to go for a glass is half full interpretation and say it’s the start of 2013.
My holidays have been both equally manic and magic with 11 cities/towns, 8 border crossings and 3 cooking classes as I’m meandered around South East Asia in the space of five weeks. In my enthusiasm to dust off my passport, I left for the airport barely 12 hours after I waved goodbye to my students and will arrive just in time for the International Conference on Thinking.
Although most of my time has been spent marvelling at ancient and modern buildings in between eating copious amounts of street food, I did spend a couple of days in International Schools seeing the amazing teaching and learning going on there.
I know what you are thinking.
It takes a special kind of nerd to set aside time on holiday to do classroom observations but my time was PD on steroids. I have come back brimming with ideas to implement in the classroom and a love affair with the Primary Years Programme. As I look about my ideas around barcamps, impact projects and even the Daily 5 I can see how the programme gives some conceptual grunt to my ideas about effective teaching and learning. I would write more but I fear that such one-way gushing would be a bore to read.
These visits simply wouldn’t have been possible without twitter. Through twitter I had already virtually visited classrooms and met teachers. However while online is good face to face is so much better. You get to hear the conversations, the sights and yes even the smells of the classrooms. Nevertheless it is ever so surreal actually being in a classroom that you’ve been watching over the internet or putting a face to an avatar.
In other news I was pleased and humbled to have made it into the Apple Distinguished Educator programme. The calibre of the candidates who both made it into the programme and those who missed out is truly awe-inspiring. Alongside a digital community to join, I also have four days of learning and networking in Bali just before Easter.
2013 is looking to be an exciting year…
Teaching the Teacher 
I want to hear more! Not boring at all 🙂 Well, I might be a little biased, but… so what? If you’re not going to write it here, then an email will do. I’d like to hear about the classes you visited, what you learned and why you have fallen in love with the PYP…
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Hi Edna,
You’ve prompted a post which is still in draft form.
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It all sounds wonderful and my question to self is answered about what is ADE! I saw Myles Webb congratulating you on Twitter and I went ???? All sounds amazing, and only a special person as yourself would lap it all up.
Will be looking forward to your evolving ideas finding their way into the blog. I am sure the conference is amazing too. Instead I am at school preparing and planning for the all too soon 29th when the class will be back. We have ERO in the third week. Sh! My least favourite group in Education. I know I shouldn’t be like that, but that’s me!
I may not get time to comment, but always reading and enjoying your blog. May 2013 be another amazing year of learning in your classroom.
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Thanks so much Kathryn
I must confess I haven’t been to school at all these holidays and my class is back on the 29th!
Stephanie
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