The Party is Over, But Not Really

When I embarked on a sabbatical last January, I think my family was imagining me being on vacation from work. Maybe this is what some people do when they are on sabbatical, but I had other plans. I was looking forward to a semester of learning, reading, writing, watching. Yes, I could keep my own schedule and plan each day as I chose. This in itself is like a gift of gold. In fact, having my time be my own was so precious that I soon realized that I didn't want to waste a minute, because all too soon the time would come when the sabbatical would be over. It's likely I will not have a chance like this ever again. So I lost patience with wasted time - unnecessary meetings, gossip, and listening to others complain about things that are in their control to change. I looked on every day as a gift. I started with a stack of books I planned to read, a book I began writing, and a desire to learn - especially about technology. Now that my sabbatical has come to an end, I am happy to say I accomplished my goals. I am satisfied with what I accomplished and how I spent my time. I have no regrets!

Lest I seem like a workaholic, let me just say that I did step away from thoughts of teaching and learning to take on a completely unrelated project. I worked with my family to organize a fund raising walk for ovarian cancer - the Whisper Walk for Ovarian Cancer Awareness in honor of the memory of our mother. I could never had given time to leading this event without the flexibility of my sabbatical. Actually this project will impact my teaching in ways I hadn't realized. I believe real-life experiences add to the depth and details of our personal interactions, which is at the heart of teaching.

As my sabbatical has drawn to a close, I am thrilled to be able to say that I recently received a contract to publish my book - Forward Thinking: Language Arts on the Move, a multimedia language arts textbook. It looks like the fun will continue.
I am including a link to the digital essay I have created about my sabbatical. Not only the content, but also the video I created myself speak to the incredible collection of experiences I was fortunate to have over the past few months. Thank you to all of the teachers who let me visit their classrooms and to the children who made me feel at home.

mms://mythos2.emporia.edu/esumedia/edobler/project.wmv