A Love of Learning

“What are you up to this Sunday?”

“I’m spending the day in New York learning with colleagues.”

“On a Sunday? Ugh!  Poor you!”

“I can’t wait!  I’ve been looking forward to it all week.”

Sometimes I wonder about my sanity.  I should be starting to think about retirement and scaling back; relaxing more, and working less. But for some reason I’m constantly seeking a new challenge, new learning, something to push me to the next level.  It’s like a runner’s high for me, this idea of outgrowing myself.

This past Sunday I was in that happy place.  I’ll be teaching a Writing Institute in Texas for the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project.  This weekend found me sitting around a table with about ten colleagues learning the content and the practices we would need for this new coaching work. We listened, we read, and we practiced in partnerships.  We broke at noon for a pizza lunch and talked more about literacy. We received books and supplies (That’s another thing that gets me pretty jazzed; supplies! Felt tipped pens, and post its of all sizes!). We spent the rest of the afternoon preparing for our institutes and sharing ideas about how we might approach various topics. It was hard. I was tired. I left the day feeling a little prepared, but quite overwhelmed with the work that lies ahead.

I could have been home relaxing in the hammock on a sunny Sunday afternoon, but I was pretty happy sitting around a conference room table learning and outgrowing myself once again.