Thoughts

Tonight was our final EC & I 831 session. I managed to catch the last two presenters and will go back and listen to the previous presentations this week. There are a few hard working souls who have completed their graduate degree with this class and are celebrating tonight. There are some (like me) who will be doing their final course in spring and there are others who are beginning, in the middle or near the end of their work. Congratulations to my classmates who have finished their requirements for their graduate degree.

I mentioned last night that I can’t help but feel a little sad. When I lived in the north, it seemed that we often said good bye to friends about this time of year. They were ready to move on. It was always a sad time. I feel a little like that tonight. I have met about 1/2 dozen of the people in this course face to face. Yet I feel like I have gotten to know most of the participants in this course far better than I got to know members of the class in other courses that I have taken.

When Alec spoke to our class last November and told us about this course, I was intrigued by his words “networks of knowledge”. I have used that quote many times since then in speaking with people and may have already used the term in another of my blogs. EC & I 831 certainly has been the organizational forum for what I consider to be a network of knowledge. I have learned so much from presenters, my classmates. Kyle, Rob and Alec. Like more graduate level work, I have been required to think outside the box (or maybe that is just the way I think). This course encouraged me to continue to think outside the box and to feel confident in doing so and was of great benefit both personally and professionally.

I cannot say this is it for I find that writing these blog posts helps me to articulate my thinking. It engages me in reflection and we know that reflecting on our practice and examining it critically enhances our understanding and attitudes both professionally and personally.

Thanks to everyone in this class for sharing.  I feel privileged to have taken a course with such high quality work.  Cheers virtual classmates! I look forward to continued interaction in the blogoshpere.