Participation, Change, and branching out: Weekly reflection

This week was an especially special week both in ILT and in my summer expeditions, as we continue to read about participation, I become more involved in the digital and take the same philosophies to my reality life to become a more active participant in the community. 

Even though each week  of ILT has encompassed some sort of understanding of participation, this week's reading and efforts for me were full force into participating at the highest level. Where one might think that this would add a lot of stress, I actually feel the exact opposite. I feel full filled, rewarded, and like I can accomplish anything, a great way to inter my third year of teaching. 

Most important this week, I have continued to jump in, and where I thought before that diving to far into digital would take away time from my creative studies, drawing and artistic endeavors, again I am pleased to announce that I have probably done more drawing, creating, and made more contacts with my digital self and real self working side by side. 

Working along side a dear friend, and with a company that I fully believe in, I volunteered this week at a Fashion Denver Fashion Camp. The camp is designed to give young girls and boys of every background the experience of creating, helping and learning through the fashion industry. Each camp starts with getting to know each other and making friends, discovering what each others strengths are and then most importantly identifying your own strengths and fierceness. This all leads into a great chat from a local author about body love and acceptance. 

These young girls come in so shy and timid and leave as little powerhouses of confidence and humility, it is a remarkable experience for the kids, and even more so to witness as an adult. 

As the girls campers create, they also learn about recycling and helping those in need, each camper brings items that they are willing to donate, and they meet a amazing duo from The Urban Angels, who talk about the importance of writing and journaling, and sharing their ideas and thoughts. Here Participation is key and it is vibrant, watching these kids so uninhibited in their ideas and participation is completely inspiring. The quickness of each camper to help each other and make friends reminds me of what humility really is.  As I watched, I was so impressed with these young campers ability to recognize their differences and embrace one and other, I couldn't help to think about why this is so different in our schools? Is it the small group, the space, or the passion for what they were all doing that united them? How do we ignite this kind of passion in education? 

BlowBrush font

I am a typography and vocabulary junkie, I have yet to admit it here in this affinity, but all my students know, that I love words and how they are created to make meaning artistically speaking. 

'Fluid' when things all work together, this is my word of the week (this is also a new act of participation, a new word and font each week, challenging myself a little more). As the campers were practicing their cat walks, Professional model and agent 'Tanesha' explains to the campers that they are fluid when they all become one by being their individual self and rocking it on the cat walk. I repeat the word a million times in my head, and think about it's endless applications in the classroom. Such a simple word but so profound.

This week I felt FLUID, though convo's, blogging, posting, daily create... it was all FLUID. And it felt great