One word for 2016

Connections: I am more than what you see...I am who I help and who I ask help from, I am what I create and what I destroy, I am who I love..

This year I am challenging myself to move out of my comfort zone again. I am focusing on making connections throughout both my professional and personal life aiming for that seemingly illusive state of lifestyle balance. The links with food is my commitment towards my foodie passion. I feel that my passion for food is only expressed when we have special occasions and for me that's not enough. I feel like thats not allowing me enough opportunities to master the skills. I'm committing myself to developing skills in charcuterie, pickling & preserving. I am passionate and somewhat skilled in cooking on an open fire. This is very likely to be included into learning programs at some stage this year. I'm calling this Kaiology. The study of Kai (Māori for food). The ecology/sustainability references relate to my passion for nature and the layers of connections that establish complex and yet balanced/harmonious systems. So much disharmony has caused a disregard to this balance. How does this relate to teaching? For me its about Ako. Ako (reciprocity) is about recognising the valuable learning opportunities that exist when we interact with others. The truth is the learners make me the teacher I am and my learning practices make those around me my teachers (whether they are aware of this or not) E-learning represents the new opportunities that have developed in this amazing age we live in. I am passionate about education and the potential we can achieve through the effective utilisation of technology to enhance our local and global connections. This is something that excites me and drives me to explore new ideas and critically reflect on common conventions. Finally and perhaps most importantly I am challenging myself to make new connections with my learners whanau (family) beyond what I have achieved so far. This is scary and exciting.. I need to not listen to my self doubts and lack of confidence and make the move..Thankfully we have a focused and likeminded team of teachers who feel the same as me. In his research paper Macfarlane, (2015) writes about how student success = whanau success. This is an amazing connection for me. For some illogical reason I was limiting the opportunities for learning by not fully utilising the value our surrounding whanau hold. This year we are inviting our learners whanau to create a list of contexts we can draw from for our learners inquiries. I feel confident enough in our practices to deliver an integrated curriculum within a set of contexts that are determined through co-construction with whanau and students. I don't really know what to expect but I am hoping an increase in these connections will be beneficial for our learning community..I am genuinely looking forward to making these connections. References. Macfarlane, A. H., & Macfarlane, A. (2015). Ngā tapuwae o mua mō muri : Footprints of the past to motivate today ’ s diverse learners, 20 (2), 27–38.