September+2015

[[image:2010_mavericks_competition.jpg width="800" height="528"]]
[]

September 2015: The School Year and Research Project Begin!
After a wonderful summer that included a trip around the Great Lakes, it was time to get back to the (good) realities of life and work and study in Winnipeg. This year is unique for me in my teaching career, since I am also conducting a research study into the ways that high school teachers think about possible futures. So far I have been able to introduce the study to the possible research sample (the staff of a large high school) and I've started the process of collecting "Opt In" forms and "Consent" forms.

The project takes place throughout the school year, starting with an online survey in October, followed by group meetings and individual interviews from October to June. Once the data collection is done I'll sort my findings into relevant themes, and write it all up into a dissertation. Hopefully that process will go as smoothly as it can, but I do worry about possible complications that could slow me down. When I read about the processes that other Doctoral Candidates have gone through as they conduct research, collect data, and make sense of what they've found I know that the road ahead can be tricky to navigate. So, it is with a sense of respect for the magnitude of the task that I enter into the new school year, fully ready to do good work as a teacher, and as a researcher as well.

In my work as a teacher, I am busy teaching four classes of High School English: two classes of Grade 11 students, one class of 10s, and one class of 9s. Keeping on top of the grading and unit planning is a challenge, and although it is going well I am glad that next semester I'll have 3 classes to focus on, and not 4. In our jurisdiction, 7 classes = a full time job, so it always splits as a "3" and a "4", or a heavier semester and a less heavy semester. We've already worked through True Grit, Flowers For Algernon and Fahrenheit 451 in the first units. Now everyone is working on non-fiction forms: memoirs for grade 9s & 10s, formal research essays for the 11s. Busy busy busy!

Besides all of that, my family life outside of University and Teaching is also busy, with my kids involved in activities pretty much every night of the week, and my Mother-in-law also living with us as she recovers from a hip replacement surgery. Again, this is ALL good stuff, good events, good recovery, goodness knows that goodness abounds, but it sure heats up the calendar. So far I've been able to stay ahead of the wave, surfing through September, with that huge roller pushing me forward and rising higher and higher above my head. Even though it all gets a little intense, I know that I'm happier when I'm busy, and when I've got a buch of things on the go.

My survey for the research study is being piloted right now with about 20 doctoral students, and they are suggesting tweaks and fixes. Nice to have a community of people to look all of that over. If all goes well I'll initiate the survey with the research sample in mid-October, and it'll wrap up in mid-December.

Meanwhile, I'll enjoy the surf. []