TETA Board of Directors
TETA K-12 Committee
Vice-President
What an amazing summer I’ve had. I traveled a little and spent a lot of quality time with my family.
I want to thank several people who helped make SummerFest 2013 truly incredible. July 17-21, 2013 at Baylor University will be several days I will never forget! The K-12 Committee worked months in advance for this event. They arrived at Baylor a day early to meet and set up, presented several workshops each, helped organize door-prizes, made sure presenters felt welcome and appreciated, greeted new members, worked together to execute a flawless Sunday Luncheon, then finally clean-up and then stayed late for our closing meeting. I appreciate Gloria, Erin, Gena Lea, Samuel, Victoria, Jenna, Teresa, Lindsey and Cecile so much! Baylor staff was incredible as well- Thank you Dr. Deanna Toten Beard, Sue Koehler , Dr. Stan Denman, and all the Baylor presenters and staff. What an amazing team- Wonderful things happen when our superpowers combine!
There is one statistic I’d like to share: Of the 220 participants present at SummerFest 2013, over 40% were new members to TETA! This is such good news for our organization and I hope to see them all at TheatreFest 2014 in Dallas.
Two significant events from SummerFest were Phillip Morgan’s address on Saturday after lunch, and Billy Dragoo’s speech during the luncheon on Sunday. Phillip’s address and creative Power Point tied-in perfectly with our theme of “Engaging your Superpowers.” He reminded the importance of creating and openly displaying our personal goals. These goals should be visible to students and administration. I thought about it, and here are mine (in no particular order):
1. Continue my education and get my Masters (Spring 2014 starting semester)
2. Get both of my children through high school with a plan for what they want to study in college
3. Get in shape, get stronger and stay that way
4. Visit Europe with my family
5. Learn how to play a musical instrument (piano or guitar)
Billy Dragoo told a story about a pet he had as a child, a pigeon named Hogan. This bird faithfully walked Billy and his brothers to school and was truly brave as he casually strolled among the neighborhood cats. Billy was inspirational as he charged us to be fearless like Hogan as we begin this new school year. There will be uncertainty and possibly pain or disappointment, but we must be fearless all the same as we face such challenges.
Last week, I had my first full day district fine-arts meeting. 150 K-12 choir, theatre, band, art, and dance educators met to plan, share, and participate in workshops. One topic was Happiness, and how people often times get job burn-out because they’re so unhappy. I know many educators who claim to “love their job”, but they still show such negativity and create a rather toxic environment. I tend to steer clear of the teacher’s lounge during my lunch period for this very reason!
We watched a portion of a TED-Talk and the presenter had this idea on how to practice happiness:
1. Show gratitude to 3 different people every day. (This can be just a positive email too)
2. Write in a personal journal (not a blog but an actual hand-written pencil to paper!)
3. Exercise (does Yoga count? Yes? Good.)
4. Meditate/Pray (not a problem)
5. Do 3 Random Acts of Kindness each day (what seems minor to you can be a big deal to others)
I’m going to the first professional development training on my campus tomorrow morning at 8:00AM. What’s the topic? Every campus teacher was instructed to pick up their copy of The VESTED Instructional Approach: Balanced Lesson Delivery for the Diverse Classroom (2nd edition). I‘ll do my very best to relate this study to my subject area and students.
I’ll engage my SUPERPOWERS while being mindful of my own goals, be FEARLESS while facing new educational ideologies and practice HAPPINESS.
I am definitely looking forward to TheatreFest 2014 in Dallas January 30-February 2 and can’t to see all the new friends I made this summer! See you then!