Pushing Forward

What a wild week, it always seems that the short weeks are the craziest!!  We’ve got a great one coming up next week and I couldn’t be more excited for the adventure!

China trips gives our kids a great opportunity to try some new things, push their comfort zones, and learn outside the classroom.  For me it is a great chance to learn more about our students as well as consider all the wonderful growth happening within our students.  After having John Francis visit yesterday I am inspired to LISTEN more over the course of this next week.  I don’t think I’ll manage to stay quiet for an entire hour, let alone a whole day, but I’m going to certainly make an effort to shut up and listen!!

One of the best parts of our China Trips experience is the opportunity to step back and be a fly on the wall.  The Insight leaders can do their thing and we can just be there.  I know how hard I’m going to have to work to shut my mouth and just listen but that’s my goal.  The guides and counselors from Insight are there to lead and I want to let them do that, no matter how bad I want to jump in and take over.  Sometimes things have to run their course and that might mean stepping back and watching instead of butting in and speaking up.  My goal is to practice listening and try to learn something.  I figure, at the very least I’ll learn how to step back and listen 🙂

John Francis said, “How can we be teaching if we aren’t learning?”  I know that when we evaluated our character strengths back in November that a lot of us found out that we fit the “Learner” profile (not to our surprise!)  My question this week is, “What are you learning and how are you learning it?”  Take some time this weekend to think about what you’re going to learn next week…what are your goals for the coming China Trip week?

Wherever you’re off to (or not) find something to focus on this week and learn!!  Enjoy your trips and take lots of pictures for the kids 🙂