WatchDevRun

Memorial Day is a weekend I haven't been in the US for in years.  This year is different, not only am I here but COVID-19 has changed the way we look at weekends, life, everything.  So now here I sit after enjoying a beautiful weekend at home and wondering what the next year will bring.  This year we've altered plans -- camping in the backyard during Memorial Weekend instead of going to campgrounds.  We've had races that have moved to the virtual realm versus doing them in "real life". Our friends are found on Zoom or Google Meets, I'm teaching students via Google Meets instead of talking to them in my classroom.  Everything has changed but there is one thing that hasn't.  We still need to connect on one level or another and that's what we're doing. Social media is supposed to be the place where we can connect to those around us but it has gone from something that was once positive to a very negative place for many people.  If someone doesn't a...

At the end of April, I received an email stating I had received a scholarship from DataQuest to work through the Data Analytics program they offer.  It's an online course that teaches the skills needed to move on to working in Data Analytics.  This is what I had been waiting for!  In the midst of the pandemic, I had received something that would help me see the world in a different view.  This scholarship is so much more than that, it gave me the feeling of someone believing in me and the way I see the world.  Most people see the clump of trees that I run by and see all the trees.  Data Analytics give you an ability to see the trees as individual and use the patterns they produce to tell you so much more about them and how they interact with the world.  It's not just important to see the big picture but to separate out the parts of it and see what it means.  Although these trees look like a clump at the end, each one is changing color at a differe...

Wow, what a change a week makes!  No snow this week, light running, some strength training and new challenges put into place.  The Al Ain Triathlon Club started a set of workouts and meets this weekend that helped re-energize me and where I am right now.  There is definitely something to be said for teammates, even virtual ones.  Certain things can help point you in the direction you know you should be going, even if your heart hasn't been in it and that's what's happening. But it's not the biggest thing on my mind this week.  No, it's the news of education cuts for next year and what that means.  The world is struggling and we all understand that.  Teachers were asked to revamp their entire curriculum in a short period and we did that.  Schools were asked to shut down and still reach out to feed students, set them up with the technology they needed and help this transition and they did that.  Now schools are being told thanks for everythin...

This week should have been a great week to focus on relaxing, getting into a rhythm of running after pushing to 40 miles last week and adding in strength training.  But that was not the case... Monday, I got the run and core in.  Wednesday, run, core and back workout and then there was Thursday...I was halfway through a 5-mile run (literally had just passed the 2.5-mile mark) when I came down funny.  And when I say funny, I mean I'm not sure if I twisted it at the same time or what but all of a sudden I couldn't put weight on it.  When I bent it, you could hear and feel the cracking sounds in the knee.  This was not good, I had been surviving the pandemic by running 5-6 times a week and now adding the strength just after my 40th birthday should have been a turning point where I would have the opportunity to get stronger.  Instead, I had to cut my 2nd run of the day short and adjust the strength workout that night so I didn't do any other damage.  At ...

Last week marked a few occasions in this ongoing saga of the pandemic.  The first included a completed week of remote learning, not only as the teacher but as the parent.  It has been a learning curve for all of us as we have worked to figure out the remote learning process that works best and how to make all the pieces fall into place.  It wasn't perfect but nothing is ever going to be....not in life and not during the middle of a crisis. Most students want to be engaged and are thrilled to have an opportunity to use Google Meets or any other video conferencing just to have an opportunity to talk to teachers and peers.  It has been enlightening to find out that students do miss the people who are a part of the school, as much as the staff does. As a teacher, I'll continue to worry about the ones I can't reach but I'll also continue to do what I can, that's all I can do. On the parent side is incredibly grateful for my daughter's teacher and the staff ...

Another week and another way to figure out how to 'survive and thrive' through the pandemic.  It's been an interesting week, to say the least... Spring break was upon us, so there was no distant learning for my child but I was walked through what my new job will be looking like during this face-to-face shut down.  And I think we'll be ok overall.  It's a total change for a lot of our families, including my one but it's one that will work out and I think we may look at education and life differently in the future. Finishing off the week was Easter, like many people, we did a virtual Easter with family.  Everyone had their own table and food and we went about it together.  It was good but different, we've always been gone for Easter so actually doing it like that wasn't much different than normal, for my family. Now we go into a week that is a learning curve for everyone involved - parents, students and teachers alike.  Monday, April 13th students i...

I've never been as grateful for this image on my morning run as I was after the news was released that Michigan will not be re-opening the schools this academic year.  As a parent, it's going to be rough. I have an only child so her whole social world will, and has been me, for the last 3 weeks already.  Add in we just moved back to the US so a lot of her friends are still overseas makes this a bit harder.  As a teacher, knowing my students are home and not sure how they're doing, except the ones who email me back, that is just as difficult.  Not knowing how to provide the right instruction to help them stay as successful as they've been this year is going to be difficult but we'll manage.  How do I know we'll manage?  We're teachers.  We walk into a classroom every day not knowing if our kids have eaten, slept much less gotten any work done.  We don't know who is getting abused at home or struggling to get electricity or internet s...