Welcome!

Hi, everybody!  I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce myself as so many of you have already done.  It's been a pleasure getting to see the diverse experiences we all bring to the table.  I think this will be a great community of learners and a really good place for me!

PROFESSIONAL ME:  I teach Spanish at Fairmont Junior High, in beautiful Boise, Idaho.  This coming school year will be my third at FJH and my thirteenth year as a Spanish teacher.  In those years I have taught every grade ranging from Montessori preschool to International Baccalaureate high school classes.  Every. Single. Grade.  (Sometimes I found myself teaching waaaay too many grades and preps all at the same time, which was ridiculous!)  Between heavy teaching assignments and starting a family, my plans for earning a master's degree were put on hold for much longer than I'd intended.  But life is funny sometimes, and I have found myself employed at the very school where I started learning Spanish in the eighth grade.  Same room, even.  It's the most "stable" job I've had in awhile, with the most reasonable workload.  I thought it would be a good time to go back to school.  Now that I've found a program that seems so useful and timely, I am beginning the MET program after a decade-long "break" from higher learning.  I am really excited to improve as a teacher throughout this program.

"TECHY" ME:  Until now, I have felt pretty confident and competent when it comes to using technology in education, in part because I see many of my coworkers struggling to adopt new ideas, whereas I tend to embrace the possibilities and find what works for me.  However, I am beginning to see that technology has been advancing at a rate much faster than my own, and it seems like a good time to try to catch up!  (Can one really catch up to technology?)  I've already been challenged with some of the tasks for our 501 class, and that's a good thing.  I see so much potential for my teaching and for my students' learning; I just needed this push to get outside my comfort zone.  I plan to use this learning log to organize my work, to share evidence along the way, and to reflect on my progress and adventures.

PERSONAL ME:  When I'm not working or being otherwise "productive", I love spending time with my family.  My husband Mike is also a Spanish teacher, and we have a three year old daughter named Eira, who is just the coolest kid ever!  We love to bicycle along the Boise Greenbelt, camp out of our Volkswagen van and hike with our two (very naughty) beagles.  Of course, this is all just warm-weather fun; deep down I'd welcome a longer winter because I do live to ski.  I alpine, telemark, and cross-country, and I trek into the powdery backcountry every chance I get.  This past winter, Mike and I had the joy of introducing our daughter to the bunny slopes and the chairlift... So far, very good! 

My little snow bunny on Easter, which was also our local ski hill's last day of operations this year.

Taking a break from pulling my daughter's sled along the XC trail at Bogus Basin.

Skiing at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, back when I was a ski team coach and took students  on trips!

Cruising the Boise Greenbelt.

With my husband and daughter at Boise's Kathryn Albertson Park.

Hiking out of Stanley, Idaho, with my dogs Cacey and Mardi.

I love to travel and see and do new things.  Latin America is my favorite destination, but I've also enjoyed many-a-road-trip around the US.  I studied abroad in Costa Rica and have returned every chance I get, including my most recent visit when I chaperoned a group of students for two weeks.  What a blast!  I do consider Costa Rica my home away from home and my host family is my second family.  I learned so much when I took the leap to be an exchange student.  

Visiting a volcano with my Costa Rican host family.

Our van, admiring the Grand Tetons on the way back from a midwest road trip.  For those of you who hold true to the Boise State/University of Idaho rivalry and noticed the license plate, please don't judge my husband for being a Vandal.  He really is a good guy.  :-)

I have made it a life goal to always be learning something new.  I feel it's only fair since I ask the same of my students!  It's good to be able to relate to the learning process, and this MET program is definitely a component of my plan.  My most recent projects have been learning to play the ukulele, teaching myself to knit, and bettering my skills as an amateur photographer.  And then there's my 100-year-old house, which is always forcing me to learn new things like construction, electric and plumbing repairs!

I will close with one of my favorite quotes, which applies to my travels as well as my education and my general philosophy on life:

We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.  -T.S. Eliot 

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to learning alongside all of you!

~Jenny