Week 3- Leadership Project

Retrieved from Flickr Creative commons Circusfrom craiglea123

Ladies and Gentleman, Boys and Girls.... Welcome to the greatest show on earth, the three ring circus I call my life.  Watch as I tame wild animals, juggle, manage a bunch of clowns and put out fires all at the same time!  Really... I am not kidding!

In the past year I feel as if my small side show of a life has literally turned into a three ring circus. I have a 4.5 and a 6 year old boy, both who seem to have an endless array of ailments lately.  When they are not sick or bruised they are very normal high-energy rambunctious little boys who rightfully demand a large amount of attention.  My husband works night so we literally pass each other at the door each way.  I am 6 months pregnant which brings along it's own set of demands and pleasures.  Need I say any more on that subject?   I teach all four core courses at the Regents level to a group of 9th graders who are not only classified with many different disabilities but also identified as the highest risk students of their 675+ class.  One of my students has TBI, who is aggressive to the point of being violent, and whose case his heading before a superintendents hearing, with lawyers involved on both sides.  4 of my students have involved behavior plans, 3 of my students have been placed on PINS (a form of juvenile probation), and all of this is happening in a district that is not structured or organized well enough to handle any of it.

As my classmates may know, the accelerated master's program has been intense, requiring a tremendous amount of organization and commitment.  Put on top of that, the thought of presenting my findings at a conference and I almost want to scream.   But everything that I looked at a year ago, and had similar feelings about, has gone phenomenally and has ended with results that I am now proud of.  My initial thoughts were that writing a paper would be the easier, less stressful choice.  But having read The Art of Possibilities, and knowing that this is a situation in which I can think outside of my "box" and in which I can structure opportunities and possibly spark others, I figured that I need to push myself a bit here.

I do truly feel passionate about the possibilities that this idea has for students, particularly those who need alternatives to the traditional methods.  If I simply wrote a paper, I am not sure if that passion and support would be heard or deeply comprehended.  I find that when I share even just one single tool with a colleague and see their excitement, I am driven to keep sharing.  I think that if given the opportunity, a conference may provide a similar experience.

Retrieved from Flickr Creative commons Untitled from tati w.

I think that my next step is to use my contacts through Schoology, to see if there is some suggestions or some ideas to where to contact first, or who I may use as connections in order to find the best place to showcase my findings.  I figure that since they play such a large part in my ARP, perhaps they would not only be willing to help, but could perhaps point me in the best direction.