Professional Development Minutes

“We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails”.                                                                                                                       — Bertha Calloway  

Did you know that hugging trees is good for your mental health ? It might sound silly, but it's true! This is a picture of me hugging a rare tree -- the  black walnut ( Juglans nigra) tree . 

i'll never be  fashionably  impressive  or hot can't be what i'm not 

I just watched a documentary on the history of the automat. It's fabulous. New York, Mel Brooks, Colin Powell. It has it all. I only wish I could go to an automat for lunch... If only I had a time machine! 

Indigenous peoples and communities continue to suffer at the hands of the petrochemical industry. VICE put together a documentary on the Chemical Valley in Sarnia, Ontario. I watched this documentary years ago but it is worth revisiting. When creating Land Acknowledgements , may it serve as inspiration.  

my neighbour’s elf light  and strands of twinkly bulbs decorating their front yard  try hard  but can’t compete  with  the stars shining  in the midnight black sky:  nature 1, holiday decor 0. 

At a recent UN biodiversity conference, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres sounded the alarm on environmental destruction. His remarks below : Ecosystems have become playthings of profit. With our bottomless appetite for unchecked and unequal economic growth, humanity has become a weapon of mass extinction. We are treating nature like a toilet. And ultimately, we are committing suicide by proxy.

walking through  the  emergency room  i have  flashbacks  to last winter  spending hours, days  watching  my dad  lying  on  a stretcher  hooked up  to iv  and  heart monitors  frail and scared  and  me  escaping  every  now  and again  into  a dimly lit hallway  so he wouldn’t see  my face  splashed  with tears  

in the great hall  the architecture is exquisite  [circa 1920s] i stand  admiring  as  people text and talk  with one eye on the clock  a sense of hurry and hustle  endless motion and distraction  and me depending on you  to figure out  where we are going next

disappointment  is like finding out  the knitted cardigan  you wanted and  spent  years  combing through  thrift store racks for  is made out of  coarse  wool, itchy  and dry-clean only:  unwearable fashion.

crosby,  sinatra, martin  are the unholy wise men bringing magnetism, swagger and  cool :  who needs frankincense anyway?

yellow and black strips keep buzzing around me  buzz, buzz, buzzing landing on my hand  and then on the patch of sunlight kissing my leg i whoosh away their wings but they keep zig-zagging  back to me you’d think i was as sweet as a red delicious apple or as appealing as one 

When the message you receive on your blog feels a lot like your life.   

next stop  dundas station  i get up from my seat and exit the train  lost in a sea of ryerson  toronto metropolitan university students

i look up i’m at king road on my way to you 214 miles  until i breathe your air  i’ve known you since  i was 4 years old your wild curves your sunsets the stars that cover your sky your roots run  deep in me north barrie highway 400  80 km/h everyone is going over 100 follow the orange lines  i’m headed to god’s country

"Prayers by the Lake" by Pam Cailloux  This post is dedicated to supporting Indigenous communities.  This is a working post and will be updated on an ongoing basis. If you have any resources that you would like to share, please post them in the comment section below. Thank you!  1. Balancing the Canoe   2. Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada   3. Reconciliation Canada (volunteer opportunities and toolkits, and other actions )  4. Unreserved (podcast)  5. Language (politically correct terminology)   6. Land Acknowledgement   7. Residential Schools   8. Indigenous Pedagogy: Teaching Approaches   9. The History of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation 10. Bridge Between Nations: A History of First Nations in the Fraser River Basin 11. Historical Background: The Indian Act and the Indian Residential Schools   12.  Health research involving First Nations, Inuit and Métis children and their communities 13....

my computer wallpaper  changed autonomically  to a  picture with mountains  and autumn trees  and a lake reflecting the  change of seasons -- a metaphor for life that seems so relevant   to me  right now:      well played macbook air.

i was content mittens, toque, winter coat curled up on a lawn chair  embracing the october chill reading about politics  and capitalism and revolution  then it started to rain — i didn’t mind  but  the book  i was reading protested  water and paper  don’t mix. 

bubba watson is a name  i’m more familiar with  than my own name and i don’t even play golf i’ll have to start: point me in the direction of the green i’ll bring the pink golf balls. 

René Descartes  famously states, " I think, therefore I am ".  Since I'm interested in teaching, I'm wondering how  this philosophical statement can be modified for teachers and other educators? I propose:          I learn, therefore I teach.         Any other thoughts? Share below.

Do you have grit?  When it comes to learning, Angela Lee Duckworth argues  grit is essential.   

I was having an Annie Lennox moment when I came across  this TED video. I encourage you to grab a tea, take a 20 minute break and watch it.  Andrew Solomon talks about how his struggles growing up have made him into the man he is today. Solomon says that it is through struggle and adversity that we can “Forge meaning and build identity”. He explains, “Forging meaning is about changing yourself” and “Building identity is about changing the world”.  How/what will you change today?

Birds chirping  Engines accelerating  Horns honking  Hum of traffic  passing by  Air conditioner spinning  Dogs barking Neighbour shouting Airplanes making their way  through a cloudy sky  Cacophony of sound  That used to bother me  Now I welcome  To drown the sadness Chaos inside my head: It’s the silence I dread