inner nerd wins equivalent of miss universe pageant

found out yesterday that an action research proposal that i developed was accepted!

action research is a form of research conducted by teachers with their own students in their own classrooms. it's a fantastic model that makes the research dynamic and immediately relevant.

since i was a kid i have always loved to conduct research, love coming up with a thesis and the whole process of being immersed in piles of books and sheets with highlighted headings and asterisks.

really developed a taste for it in university where i was a research assistant for one of my professors in the field of experimental psychology for a couple of years. loved reading the abstracts,helping come up with methodology and trying to parse out what was really contributing to the behaviours observed.

i have so many opportunities to develop and test theories in the day to day workings of my job that i almost feel guilty. it's an experimental psychologist's wet dream. there's no greater feeling than when the garbled features of a struggling students written work start to take shape and an underlying pattern reveals itself.

don't know why but a big part of the activities i pursue (music, writing, teaching) are connected to an urgency i have to leave something behind to live beyond me when i go. i want to be part feel like i have contributed something to the culture in which i've lived.

now do you see why i need a vacation? i'm one of those people who thinks all the time, whose analytical half of the brain never shuts off. that's why i was so excited to have the opportunity to bring the formal structure of research that i loved so much in my university life, back into my current classroom situation. always regretted having to close the door on that aspect of my education. gave it up because i felt that i needed to roll up my sleeves and do some field work to balance out my notion of what learning was and how the mind worked. instinctively knew that i needed to inform theory with practice.

given the fact that i am completely burnt out from my travails this year and am already stressed at the composition of the group of kids and parents that i'll have to contend with in september,the timing couldn't be better.

realize that these ramblings won't resonate with most of you but they are the thoughts that are kicking around my noggin in between attempts to prepare for my trip, my trip that seems surreal! more on that tomorrow!