Set The Hook.
Follow me:
  • Home
  • Fishin' Solo Blog
  • MTBoS
  • Table Talk Math
  • The Classroom Chef
  • Would You Rather...?
  • Meet the Fisherman
    • Resume
  • Flipping 2.0
    • Flipping Your Classroom
    • Troubleshooting a flipped classroom
  • Choose Your Own Assessment
    • Student Work Samples
  • Apps In Class
  • Pre-made Math Lessons

Refuse to Fail

2/19/2013

0 Comments

 
Growing up as an athlete, we all have quotes that motivate us, inspire us, and drive us to become the people we have set out to be.
"Refuse to Fail" - President George W. Bush, September 11th, 2001
Ever since high school, this has been my driving force. Being an undersized athlete on the baseball field, this mentality allowed me to persevere through some of the most difficult times as a student and athlete.  Injuries will not deter my goals.  Setbacks will not derail my desire.  Negativity will not negate the foundation that has been laid.

The same holds true in the everyday life that has evolved since athletics have ended.  I've never accepted failing a test, being denied admission to a program, or being left off of a roster, with any sense of complacency.  I believe that we are destined to strive for more, to refuse failure as the final option.

This afternoon, I received the letter in my email inbox that kept me out of the elite company as an Apple Distinguished Educator.  The competitor in me was upset at anything I could be upset at.  Did I do enough?  Was it worth all of the time spent?  Was it my application video?  Could I have done more?

ADE application - Final from john stevens on Vimeo.

Looking back on it, the competitor in me is still disappointed, and I don't think that there is anything wrong with feeling disappointment.  In fact, if you weren't disappointed after not getting something, maybe you didn't really want it.  Or work for it.  Having the ability to look at a scenario and look past the disappointment into the opportunity is what will separate the remorse from the rebound.  Looking forward, there is so much that this entire ADE process has done.

Applying to become an Apple Distinguished Educator didn't provide me with the current opportunities that I am experiencing, but it has granted me the motivation to strive for more from my students and more from myself.  Because of this, students in room 205 are doing more with technology and publishing more of their work than ever before.  I am putting myself out into the educational community and collaborating with amazing educators from around the world because it seems like I just needed that little push.

While there is no ADE added onto my name, there are a few great things coming up since the application process was opened:
  • CUE 2013 Presenter in Palm Springs (twice!)
  • CUE Rockstar on the USS Hornet
  • CUE Rockstar in Lake Tahoe
  • Podcasting with Jeff Herb and Jessica Pack
  • Co-Founder and moderator of #CAedChat Sunday nights at 8:00 PST
  • Published the first of 4 eBooks dedicated to the SAMR Scale


Turning this into a positive, my classroom is a better place because of this whole experience.  Now, off to work on my 2014-15 application.
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Picture

    Author

    Math nerds tend to have a reputation for being math nerds.  I'm here to continue that trend.

    For more blog posts, click HERE

    Picture

    Archives

    July 2020
    April 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012

    RSS Feed

Not that you would do anything crazy, but here:
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.
Photos used under Creative Commons from timlewisnm, leppre, KristinNador, Jarosław Pocztarski, Martin Pettitt