Friday, March 18, 2011

Hobbies and Interests

I am a big believer that our hobbies and interests can be incorporated into our teaching styles and help us be better teachers. I'd like to share with you some of my hobbies and how I feel they influence my teaching and teaching philosophy.

Tango
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My boyfriend and I have been taking tango classes for several years now. Tango reminds me a lot about education. There is a leader and a follower. The follower can't predict the leader's movements but the leader MUST be in tune with the follower. The follower needs to trust the leader and the leader needs to believe the follower will take care of themselves. Sometimes the leader is obvious and sometimes they are subtle. Above all the leader and follower must constantly work to be in tune with each other often dancing with their eyes closed to better focus on the connection. This is so similar to what we see in our relationships with our students.


Photography
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I love photography. It has taught me to be patient and observing but also to think on my feet. Often enough the images I take that I think are accidents or wont turn out end up being my best images. I photograph a lot of different people, places, and things but I really enjoy taking self portraits like this. They help me to create a visual reflection on who I am as a person and where I want to go. I also gravitate toward visual learning.


Music
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I love music! I own 3 guitars that I play and I also sing. I have a background in music and performing arts and this is something I love bringing into the classroom. I've had the fortune to meet several of my musical idols and give many performances too. This has taught me how to work in a group (band) and to be a leader (solo). It has taught me how to keep in time and when to improvise. It's catered to my auditory learning and helps me express myself in a way unmatched by others. I love sharing music with my students.


Nature
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In Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences I often gravitate toward naturalistic. I love to get my hands on things from outside and incorporate them into my classroom in the form of nature boxes. My father always taught me a great appreciation and respect for the wildlife around me and I love to take photos of it. This is something I love using as an educational tool. I really love the ocean and it holds a special place of interest for me. I am always thinking about ocean ecology issues and how important a role it plays for us.

Animals
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I really love animals too and this photo was taken of 3 rescued bearded dragons brought to my school aged center to educate our students. Animals have such a remarkable ability to reach students especially those who may be gifted or exceptional. I hope to harness whatever opportunities I can to expose my students to animals and make appropriate curriculum links.


A few other images with captions....
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A photo of me next to a painting I modeled for. Modeling was something I tried after high school and was able to get myself published in a few fine art books as well as on display in several local galleries including MSVU.

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Performing at the MSVU Art Gallery where I have had my work on display once a year since 2004 for their community show.


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I also enjoy underwater photography and took this image