Why Should You Give a Hoot About This Blog?

First of all, a former student who is now a practicing public school teacher sent me a joke a few days ago about an owl and he referred to me as "The Owl Lady." I love owls and therefore add owl icons to my syllabi, have statues of owls in my office, and wear owl jewelry. I think these raptors are not only beautiful and represent wisdom, but they are strong and confident. It makes me feel stronger and more confident just knowing that they exist in the world. Just like in the deaf community where your name is selected by the people, I feel honored to wear this given name. By the way, I will not be sharing the owl joke because...well, I haven't yet decided what the tone of this blog will be. I know I'll be straddling the personal and professional spheres, kind of like a Venn diagram with the blog somewhere in the overlapping middle. I'm certain that I won't be dropping "the 'F' bomb" in this narrative, and it's this little word that makes the owl joke funny. Alas...



Lucy and I on a hike
 in Southern Oregon.



When a respected colleague of mine encouraged our faculty to document our "teaching story" in some fashion, it reminded me that I need to get my head out of the journal on my bedside table that no one but me will ever read and a shift to sharing my story in a more public way. It's okay if no one reads this blog because I'll have documentation of my own voice, my experiences, and my growth over time. However, it would be delightful to connect to students in a new way and to hopefully feel closer to the teaching community. Teachers can get so isolated, and we know that isolation is NOT the wave of the future. I'm a firm believer in collaboration and the sharing of stories. I find it rejuvenating.

So, my next entry will be about my personal journey through school. Some funny, some inspiring, some unfortunate. It's this journey that led me to becoming a professional teacher and helped me to formulate my core values about teaching and schools.