Journey to Educate

This is the latest in a series of blogs by a partnering cohort teacher.
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By Michelle Dietrich

Retreat
Intentional, Reflective
Pause, Breathe, Connect
Heart, Mind … Hands, Voice
Rush, Keep Moving, Worry
Alone, No time
Hurry Up!

We are on a journey to educate and inspire the whole child through kindness, compassion and respect.

At the beginning of the year, before we met with our students or did any logistical school planning together, our staff met at Sandscrest Retreat and Conference Center for a retreat. In its simplest form, to retreat means to draw back. As we were closing the relaxed pace of summer, we did not need to withdraw from busy-ness. However, we did need to draw back into ourselves and reconnect with who we are as educators. The time together gave us an opportunity to name and reflect upon our personal and shared values. 
These values came from an activity in which we participated at the end of the previous school year. As we sorted and grouped, our challenge was to come up with a list of 10-15 core values which we believed should be at the heart of what we do each day. Once we named our values, we created a school mission statement which would better reflect our fundamental beliefs about what we do each day. 
We left that retreat day with powerful words as our guide. How did those words come into the school as actions? How would this retreat, and what we learned about ourselves, frame our daily routines? In the book, The Triple Focus, Daniel Goleman states that by teaching children to “tune in to what matters to them most”, we are able to tap into an “inner reservoir of motivation and engagement.”  (Goleman, p. 18). I would posit that the same is true for adults. We spent our time retreating into ourselves, and we put some thought into how we would implement values-added activities that are school wide. The next day, we got back to work.
The poem at the beginning of this article was accidentally inspired by one of my colleagues. At a recent professional learning experience while discussing poetry, I mentioned that I had not yet completed this article and I should just write a poem. She encouraged that idea. The poem above summarizes a bit of the transformation from our retreat to our lived reality in a school. Just writing the words made my heart beat faster and induced feelings of anxiety. 
However, if we notice this happening, we can do something about it! Right before break, our staff engaged in an intention setting activity. We mindfully considered – who do I want to be, how should I treat others, what skills am I working on right now, and how can I serve in a way that makes me feel engaged and fulfilled? This meditation led us to choose words to put on a bracelet which we can wear to remind us of our intention for the year. Once again, we were able to draw back to ourselves to rediscover our core values as educators.

Hurry Up!
Alone, No Time
Rush, Keep Moving, Worry
Hands, Voice … Heart, Mind
Pause, Breathe, Connect
Intentional, Reflective
Retreat
​
We are on a journey to educate and inspire the whole child through kindness, compassion and respect.  This journey is paved with our intentions.

Michelle Dietrich graduated from Bethany College in 1994 with a major in Elementary Education and a specialization in Math 5-8. Her graduate work includes a Masters in Educational Technology, Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Phoenix and a Masters in Educational Leadership from Wheeling Jesuit University.  Michelle has served as a Director of Religious Education, has taught Title I Math, K-5 and was a fifth grade teacher before serving as Assistant Principal at Warwood School. She is currently serving as the Principal at Steenrod Elementary School where she has been since 2015.  Michelle is involved in her church and in the life of her children. In her free time, you’ll find her nose in a book.  Michelle currently is a member of Cohort 3 of The Data and Technology Fluency Project with West Liberty University and the CREATE Lab (situated in Carnegie Mellon University).