I am on an inspiration binge! Like a balloon under a faucet, I feel VERY full, an stretched, but I keep my "mouth" open to receive more! This is the second half of a conference by Association of Christian School International (ASCI) called the International Children's Education Conference (ICEC).
1. A few minutes ago I was inspired by David Smith's example of using a real woman's life narrated and recorded experience of being a German speaker from the Ukraine during the tumult of the 20th century to teach German language to public school students. His goal was to not only model Christian virtues, not only identify truth, but to present content in an a way that enables students to learn what it means to be a Christian: hospitality, empathy, generosity, and so on. INSPIRING!
2. Earlier the same day I learned (in a "felt need" way) the importance of media literacy in society and I began to question my own understanding and lay plans for using this in my homeroom: 15 minutes of underutilized time in my classroom to equip kids to constructively deal with media and protect themselves from deceptions that hyper-sexuality is society's norm, that violence is desired by everyone, that there is no consistent truth.
3. Before that I listened to practical methods of integrating content reading into my high school science class. Things I can do in my class on Monday morning.
But the bottom line? Inspired! Inspired to determine my own God-oriented mission in life. Inspired to engage students in more value-oriented problem solving. Inspired to lead and encourage other. Inspired to embrace the elegance and timelessness of truth and resist the wiles of deception, in my own life, my children's lives and the lives of my students.