This post will be slightly different from most, but related to teaching nonetheless. Back in September 2022, a friend reminded me of a promise I made: I would run the Big Sur International 11-miler. In case you are wondering, yes, I run regularly. HOWEVER, I am slow and generally only run 5K races. I run most mornings, but no more than 2.5 miles. Getting up any earlier is way too difficult. So, being a person of my word, I signed up for the race. The race is held in April each year.
After signing up for it, in September, I vowed I would train to run this 11-mile race. I started off strong with a training routine. Then I purchased a new treadmill. This amped up my training. Along with the new treadmill, in early December, I started using a new app that accompanied this treadmill.
I realized I was a bit behind in training, but still had plenty of time to make it up. I was doing well until I wasn’t. You see, the time from January to mid-April just sort of flew by. I was still running, but not increasing my distance. Then, it was a week before the run and time had run out. So by this time, I was a bit worried. My running partner had told me since I signed up that we would mostly walk. Maybe that’s why I didn’t have a sense of urgency.
The night before, we went up to Monterey to easily catch the bus in the morning. While waiting for the race to start we decided to run all downhill grades. And that is exactly what we did. I’m not going to lie; by the time I got to mile 9, I was proud of how well I was doing and in a little pain. Yeah, I should have done a bit more training. Finally, near the end, I realized I could finish in under 3 hours. – Go ahead and laugh here; my dad did. – Anyway, I was very proud of myself, and we beat my running partner’s time by over 10 min.
My point behind all this is that I never, in a million years, thought I’d start running let alone do a (nearly) half marathon. And as I crossed the finish line, I thought to myself, “I really can accomplish the things that seem undoable. Mile by mile, step by step, no matter how difficult or daunting a task may seem, I can do it”
My students and I are getting used to the new format. We are doing fun things this week. Yesterday we did a small scavenger hunt. Today we drew rabbit pictures in Google Draw. We will continue to do fun things as a group. For those that are unable to join us, there is a video of the lesson. They also have the opportunity to earn 
Stop and listen to one another. This is something we have been taught since we were children. Yet, in this age of instant communication, I have noticed that we talk more and listen less. Listening, to me, means to take a moment to process what the other person has said or written. We seem to wait politely until there is a break so that we can have our say. We’re doing it wrong.
This is one question I try not to ask. This and “Did you have a good break?” When dealing with many students from differing backgrounds, it’s easy to forget that not everyone has a ‘good break’. It’s a natural question for many of us to ask. We come back not really ready to be back. I mean, we all love to sleep in and get things done around the house or hang with family/friends or go on trips. But for many students coming back to school is a welcome break from their home lives. And for that reason, I no longer ask students these questions.
Nowa Techie 