I arrived in Anchorage late last night, and my feet hit the floor running. There is plenty of snow here, and the temperature was 28 degrees this afternoon. I met up with new and old friends and headed out to the Fur Rondy, a community gathering of sprint dog races, running with the reindeer, and a carnival in the streets. Unlike the Iditarod, these sled dog races are not long distance runs, and have become the cornerstone of the festival. Observing these festivities, though, made me "thirsty" for next week's start of the Iditarod, the reason I am here!
My travels have taken me back to the place I love! As a finalist for the 2018 Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™, it is with honor that I continue the selection process by interviewing for this opportunity and presenting instructional practices based upon the Iditarod, a subject my KinderKids have grown to love so much. I arrived in Anchorage late last night, and my feet hit the floor running. There is plenty of snow here, and the temperature was 28 degrees this afternoon. I met up with new and old friends and headed out to the Fur Rondy, a community gathering of sprint dog races, running with the reindeer, and a carnival in the streets. Unlike the Iditarod, these sled dog races are not long distance runs, and have become the cornerstone of the festival. Observing these festivities, though, made me "thirsty" for next week's start of the Iditarod, the reason I am here!
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“To bring up a child in the way he should go, travel that way yourself once in a while.”As I bid farewell to puppies, dogs, mushers, mountains, trails, glaciers, Alaskan natives, and colleagues, I leave with a heart that's full and a teaching passion refueled. I simply cannot wait to bring these experiences into the lives of the students I've been blessed to work alongside.
Some may question this experiential learning as a springboard for teaching, but I will never. I predict with certainty that my students will be engaged in learning with all content areas and I feel a genuine responsibility toward making that happen with the Iditarod as the vessel through which the content flows. Diane Johnson, the director of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, summed it all up for me when she shared a life changing quote from one of her dear friends who said, "You can have an interesting life and share that interesting life with others." I will be forever indebted to the National Education Association Foundation for allowing me to assist in meeting their goal which reads, "Help us help kids know more." Now, let's hit the trail...the Iditarod Trail, that is! A Day in Matanuska |
AuthorI'm Tammy Drudy, a nature-loving and adventurous second grade teacher at Liberty Elementary School, a small rural school in Liberty, Indiana. Archives
March 2019
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