A teacher has summers off

To begin, let me say, HAHAHAHAHA!!! If you truly believe teachers have summers off, I truly have oceanfront Arizona property to offer. SHOULD teachers take summers off? Partially. Allow me to explain:

I recently returned from an intensive workshop with about 100 professional educators from across the nation, all connected due to our intense desire to better ourselves and our profession. We are committed to participating in training academies and courses such as: TLI, the Teacher Leadership Initiative, which instructs teachers to become leaders in and around their classroom; MLT-WLT, the Minority and Women Leadership Training program which models itself like a Representative Assembly, where participants are encouraged to branch out and push themselves to run for "national" office at this conference after learning important social justice and leadership issues. My national union, NEA, has dozens of similar opportunities across the nation, and participants from all these were brought together for the inaugural NEA Alumni Academy, all graduates or current participants in these programs. 

One of the things we studied was mentoring early career educators: those new to the teaching profession, those new to a different field of education, those new to a different building, grade level, location in education. We were asked to send a message to these educators, and my message was on REST. Do we get and take summers off? NO, but perhaps we should! My message was this:

In all classrooms, we need to remember the three Rs: rest, relax, and run away

All teachers need rest - be sure to sleep as much as you can! Too many papers to correct? Leave some for tomorrow and go to bed.

All teachers need to relax - keep those weekly dinner, drinks, golf, bowling dates. Enjoy yourself NOT being a teacher when you're not at school!

And all teachers need to run away whenever they can. Take a day, a weekend, a holiday and book that vacation. Put a sub request in, and do not pack any school work!

Like flight attendants tell us with oxygen masks, teachers need to secure their own plans, before helping others. Remember the three Rs and you're sure to have a great year. Welcome to teaching!

This is part of the WWII memorial in Washington, D.C., and while it resonates with me as a woman, I realize the word "women" can be replaced with "teachers" for a similarly powerful message. We DO need to step up, we DO need to participate, we DO need to lead.

I have much more to add to this, but now I must go to work. While my schools are not open, my work is ongoing, as I am my local union's 1st Vice President and we are going back to the negotiating table to attempt to collectively bargain a fair and appropriate contract with our school district. 

Back to the "summers off" thought when I'm not working.

Heading hoooooome!!!

In the Edinburgh airport...enroute to Heathrow where the MT and ID delegations depart to recheck luggage to the States. Early morning, but we're all happy to be going home! The 4th of July has just ended for you, and I am about to board British Airways on the morning of July 5th. Crazy!! 

Thanks for following my adventure!

Edinburgh...LAST DAY!!

Today we leave Aviemore and drive to Edinburgh from where we depart for home tomorrow!! Once again, we missed the queen by one day!! Both she and HRH the Duke were on The Royal Mile in Edinburgh all day yesterday! *sigh*

Happy 4th of July!!

We left around 8:00, arriving in Edinburgh at 10:30. We went straight to The Royal Mile, walking the shops and cafés. Tartans galore, including Wilson, which is an ancient clan and tartan. I need to really do some family ancestry research...am I Welsh or Irish or Scottish?! Or a mix of all? Super fascinating and cool to see a family name among the tartan scarves. Edinburgh is a great mix of old and new!

After a great lunch of vegetable Wellington (mushrooms and other veggies in a pastry cup), we walked back to Edinburgh Castle. We wandered through for a couple hours, seeing the Scottish Royal Jewels, Military History Memorial, Military Prison.

The view of Edinburgh from the castle is awesome.

We were lucky enough to watch the changing of the guard at the military history memorial, then met Margaret who told us how she became St. Margaret only 50 years after her death and directed us to her chapel...built by her son, King David, in the 1200s. When Robert the Bruce brought the clans to storm the castle, they were told the chapel must not be touched...and it still stands today! 

Before we left the castle we were able to see a wedding party! Very cool.

And now it is off to a final dinner of fish and chips, then our hotel close to the airport, and in a mere 12 hours from now we will be at the airport ready to go to Heathrow then back to the States!! Very ready to get home and get some sleep and normal food. It has been great to see all five countries of the UK, and I really hope to come back someday to re-visit my favorites! Trip has come to an end...and I am ready to go home. :)

 

 

Haggis and Highland Games

We went to the Scottish Folk Museum and got to taste haggis and tatties! (Tatties are mashed potatoes.) Haggis just tastes like sausage...I ate all of mine!

Then we led the kids on three different Highland Games: caber toss (small 6' cabers), stick ball relay, and a wellie toss.

Next we went to a 1937 schoolhouse and classroom and had a pen and ink cursive lesson! Definitely my favorite part of today!

Sheepdogs

A visit to a working sheepdog training farm...complete with puppies and lambs and hand-shearing! Very fun to watch and play.

Bringing the sheep in with individual whistle commands unique to each dog.

It's hard to wait...

I can do it!!

The sheep can really be herded tightly

All the dogs want to herd

Snagged one to shear! Caught the horn with his shepherd's hook!

And then...puppies!!!

Nessie!

And here we are looking at a bit of Loch Ness, a large and very deep lake in the Scottish Highlands. 

It was windy and chilly and pretty choppy, but only a half-hour tour. Very close to the shore, the lake is 600 feet deep!

Urquhart Castle remains from Loch Ness. Most of the original castle has been rebuilt over the years from various battles.

Whitewater rafting!

Today, after listening to Alan Torrance teach us about Scottish kilts and battle, we drove to Aberfeldy and rafted the River Tay for two hours! I am exhausted. 

They haven't had much rain here lately, so the river was very low. We had to walk our raft once, and we got stuck and high-centered a couple other times. We stood up through the first set of rapids, and spun several times through other small eddies and rapids. It was pretty darn fun, but just a river float since it was low and slow.