My students were working on their digital portfolios and I told them that they most important part of their portfolio is their homepage. The first thing people will see needs to set the stage for everything to follow. It is their opportunity to introduce themselves to their reader.
The first thing I asked my students is to post a picture of themselves. Something that truly represents them. I had to go all the way back to June of 2022 to find a picture of just me. Usually I have my husband or friends in my pictures because I'm always out on an adventure. This was on an adventure, but it was me doing what I enjoy the most. I was on a trip to Galveston with my friends. We stopped off for dinner at one of the local places. I love eating local, especially when it's outdoors, and with friends. If you get a chance, stop by Texas Tail Distillery. The food is amazing and the atmosphere is comfortable.
Next thing I asked them to do is give a brief biography. My name is Ellen Deckinga. I am a 6th grade ELA teacher on school days. Outside of school I am an adventurer and explorer of the world. I do this through experiences big and small, reading, and researching. I also love to make things. Fabric is my favorite medium, but I also love mixed media art. I enjoy other peoples art as well. You can always find me with at least one book on me. It's kind of a running joke in our family. I like paper books, but also read eBooks and audiobooks. You never know what I'll be up to. I am married and have two kids. They aren't big social media people, so I try to respect that. They know that if they are part of my adventure they will be included. My friends also know this, so be ready for surprise guests in the blog.
If you know about True Colors (a personality attributes test), I am equal in all 4 colors. Different situations call for me to display different colors as more dominant. At school I tend to be more gold, while at home I get to be more blue. I think it's this balance that got the Inquiry Academy started. (I promise you will hear all about the Inquiry Academy.) Basically I took a risk (not a very gold thing to do) and said let's scrap everything we are doing in education and build learning around the learner. At that point I went, Oh crap! I have no plan for this! I had a good team of people in place, so we set out to build an entirely new way of learning. This experience has pushed the blog into being. I frequently get asked how we did it, and what we are doing. Our great team of teachers would agree though, I'm the planner and scheduler. I tend to have the checklists, appointments, etc. Our kids know their colors and what it means for them as a learner. They can also identify other peoples colors so that they know how to work with them in partner and group situations. That they can all build on each others strengths. It's pretty epic to watch go down.
S.P.I.N. - This is an acronym for strengths, preferences, interests, and needs. Strengths: I can be flexible even when I don't want to be. It's this flexibility that often helps groups become more cohesive and work towards a common goal. I love to wonder about things, seek answers, and build more questions. I'm always learning. This is where I go the idea for the name of this blog. Preferences: I prefer to have a balance of social time and individual time. It may not be the same number of minutes for both, but that one isn't overpowering the other. I also prefer longer term projects than little quick activities. Interests: I love books. My intersets can be very fluid because I am always learning. Books, experiences / adventures, and making things seem to be the prevalent things though. Needs: I definitely have to have some quiet alone time to sort out my thinking. If I don't, I feel like things are out of control and the thoughts get overwhelming. I also need books. They are a source of comfort to me.
The next thing I ask of the kids was to share their achievements. I am very proud of the work we are doing to build Inquiry Academy. Offering students a learning environment that works for them is one of the greatest things I've ever done. Not all learners are equal. I am also proud of my children. They are functioning adult (ish) people. They set goals, work towards them, and basically manage themselves. My husband and I have been married for 25 years. To share space and life with someone for that long is pretty amazing. We make a great team.
Today is New Years Day. Many people are setting resolutions. I can never quite do a resolution, but I can set goals. I have a goal of reading 60 books in 2023. Last year I tried for 80 and made it to 52. Hopefully this year affords me a few more minutes of reading time. I have a goal of incorporating walking into my weekly schedule. One of the dogs needs this. She's getting a little chunky. I also have a goal of sharing the excitement of Inquiry Academy with others so that we can grow it. These kids needed what we offered. My friend Harmony and I set a goal of attending at least one quilting class in 2023. Just a few things I want to work towards. They will take a lot of time management, and focus. I tend to get easily distracted by other demands, so this won't be an easy task.
That was a lot of words to say hi, and I don't know where this blog will take us. Let's all just sit back and enjoy the journey.
