Hello Dr Whitehead and all of the e-seminar participants,

I would like to introduce myself to you. Its taken me awhile to respond as I wasn't sure if I qualify to participate.  I am doing an action research project but at a Masters level.  I am 39 years old and live in Hanover, Ontario, Canada.  I am a teacher for the Bluewater District School Board.  I was in a junior level classroom in a small country elementary public school.  Three years ago I studied special education and became the learning resource teacher for a large (just over 500 students) elementary ( are students are ages 4 to 12)  public school in my community.  I am working on my Masters of Education with Brock University.

My action research project will hopefully change my life but I don't know if it would contribute to the creation of living theory. 

Are you familiar with Dr William Purkey's work on invitational education?  Our last course was with a colleague of his named Dr John Novak.  What I learned is changing my thinking about myself as an educator. I learned that I matter, not just my work.  He said good teaching takes energy so take care of yourself.   That is an aspect of life I have neglected.  

What Dr Jackie Delong taught me rocked my very foundations as she wanted to hear my voice and valued what I had to say!

My research question is, can I improve my professional practice by being personally inviting with myself?  In my head the question is more blunt but I don't know if it is appropriate to be blunt in a major research paper: Can I contribute more to the education of my students by caring for and about myself?

I am concerned that if I do not change my feelings about myself and how I do my practice; I will not be here much longer.  I have significantly and negatively impacted my health by thinking that my work as a teacher was more important than anything else, that I myself had very little value. I have thought that my only value in the world was as a teacher in the public school system.  My identity was strictly tied to how I felt I was doing at work and how those in the work setting interacted with me.  I could be destroyed by words and actions of others at work because that was the only thing that really held value for me I wanted to be valued and cared about at work. I am a workaholic and have been very proud of my level of commitment to my job.  We work with children.  We can fill them with hope, a joy for learning, and invite them to believe in their potential. I believe heart and soul what is written on the plaque by my desk, “A hundred years from now... it will not matter what my bank account was, what sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove...but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.”( Kathy Davis, 1993)  What could be more important?  And yet, what will I be offering to the education of students if I am no longer healthy enough to work? I need to learn how to care for myself and give from the overflow of my energy.  This is the basis of my context and the concern that fuels my research.

I am not well read yet so if what I have written makes you think of articles or books I should read I'd welcome that information.

                                                                                                                                                    

If you are interested, I would be happy to send  you some details on the project to date.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Kathy Bauman

On 28-Jul-10, at 4:58 PM, Jack Whitehead wrote:

Welcome to Alfred Kitawi from Strathmore University in Kenya, Kathy Bauman and Encarna  Martinez an educator from Spain who join the e-seminar today.

Dear Alfred, Kathy and Encarna - when you are ready do please share your research interests in the e-seminar. Looking forward to your contributions.  Jack.