'No Matter How Difficult Things Are, You Can Do It'

From The Web Site

Inside Ed

This week, 33 elementary and middle school math and science teachers from the Baltimore area are in Huntsville, Ala., to participate in the Honeywell Educators @ Space Academy program. They will be blogging about their experiences all week at baltimoresun.com/InsideEd. Here is an excerpt about the first day from Sabourah Abdunafi of ConneXions Community Leadership Academy in Baltimore:

I met so many people from Maryland. ... We always hear ... of Maryland's educational system being so low and we have over 30 teachers here. What came after lunch was the beginning of why we are here. We had shuttle orientation. We learned some of the acronyms used in shuttle missions. I was so beat during this from the heat that I found myself nodding. I guess that's what my students feel like after a morning of classes, lunch and recess. The difference I found was that regardless of how exhausted I was beginning to feel, I wouldn't fall asleep because I knew that there was something I really wanted to learn. I may need to rethink the way I present my information sometimes when I return to school in the fall so no matter how tired my students are, they will find a way to see it through the lesson to the end and own their education.

To end the day, we had a run-through of the Discovery mission, going into space to repair a satellite. The walk-through was so difficult and confusing. Again, that's how our students feel when they come into our classes. I was required to be in two places, learning two positions at once. Then during the mission I had to communicate between two groups of people, and monitor what was going on in both places for safety. It was scary to think that this is what people have done, then it was amazing to know that it has been done and I can do it too! That is the feeling that I am excited to come home and instill in my students. No matter how difficult things are, you can do it if you set your mind to it.

My night ended with me hanging out with a few team members for about an hour and passing out with my clothes on. This is what learning is all about. It's great to be a student again.