Why am I writing this personal entry? Well, it is not an attempt to gain any sympathy. It attempts to show what is possible if a clear intention and goal serve the learner's needs. In May of 2022 just near the end of another fantastic school year, I do not remember what happened. But, I was unable to finish the school year and was unable to teach the following year. Why? On May 21st, 2022, I fell down a flight of 16 stairs (luckily carpeted) from the 2nd to 1st story of our home. I was found at the bottom of the stairs. I was found foaming at the mouth. This would lead to a 2-month hospital stay which included an induced coma because my seizures would not stop, several rounds of lumbar punctures, and relearning basic physical movements like something as simple as being able to roll in the hospital bed. Simply put, when I was admitted to the hospital, I was diagnosed as being “critically ill.” Please take a moment and read those words: critically ill. They are not terms...
So I've been writing this blog for about 13 months now. Just wanted to take the time to reflect on why I started and where it has taken me. There were two main reasons I started blogging. The first was to force myself to reflect on my practice. I am very good about thinking random thoughts about why I do what I do and how I feel the day went. But these thoughts never make it to the concrete or conclusion level. They are left as disconnected or half thought ideas floating around in my head. Strands that may never be tied together and I'll have to start anew because I never took the time to take them down. The process of writing or planning a post forces me to communicate these thoughts in a way that may not make sense to the world, but at the very least make sense to me and can be picked up by me to carry a little bit further. The other main reason I ended up starting this blog process was to keep track of my evidence and create arguments aro...