What Goes Around Does INDEED Come Around!

This is a pretty amazing story....

I was at an A&M System Summit on Teacher Education conference for the past two days where the Chancellor's Teacher Academy members had to give a presentation. We were in front of  the new A&M Chancellor, John Sharp, and my Provost, my President, my Dean - and everyone else's Provosts, President's and Deans - and an audience of about 200 teacher educators from the A&M system as well as countless administrators of A&M teacher education programs. It was high powered, and I don't like speaking in high powered places.

I thought long and hard about the question we were all going to be asked, "What is your most significant contribution to your university". It's tough, 15 minutes, and what do you say that will differ from the five other academy members??  I decided after much thought to go with something I read that struck a chord with me..."When you change attitudes, you change thinking and change behaviors". I have tried to do this for my entire career when it comes to teaching children of color. I talked to the audience about my work in teaching our future teachers to teach with culturally relevant strategies and using Family Science as a conduit for authentic teaching. That I spent years studying culturally relevant strategies after witnessing so many events of blatant and overt discrimination in our classrooms. I told several stories, including one where I saw science classrooms in a small West Texas community where, every day, Hispanic students were on one side the classroom doing worksheets while on the other side, the Anglo students worked with microscopes, dissections, and other authentic science exercises. I went to the principal of that high school and asked him why. "Why can't the Hispanic students do science like the White students?". I remember his deadpan answer like it was yesterday, "Because, Mrs. McCollough, that is the way we have always done it."

My presentation went well, and the Q&A went exceptionally well. There were two responses where the crowd literally jumped to their feet and clapped -- answers that had to do with (1) creating lifelong learners vs. lifelong students by teaching real science process and literacy and (2) effecting reform in policy by educating the policy makers rather than keeping the research journals in the silos of higher ed.

After the presentation, I gathered my things, and started toward the front of the room when a young Hispanic woman stopped me.
"Dr. McCollough?"
(I didn't recognize her...should I??)
"Yes?"
"I wanted to let you know how much you inspired me with your talk."
(Relieved...) "Oh, thank you - I try to inspire..."
"Dr. McCollough, I was one of those worksheet students in ____ High School."

My jaw dropped. I couldn't believe it. This occurred over 10 years ago!! She proceeded to tell me how in spite of my efforts (I was there for less than a year prior to obtaining my doctorate), things did not change. So, she is now an Assistant Professor in Teacher Education at A&M Commerce, and is........effecting change. We talked, exchanged information, and I will be sending her some material. I know a collaboration in Commerce is forthcoming.

I'm still in awe. I've told that story so many times. Now, I have an ending to add. How blessed I am to do what I do.

Fall Migration Time!

I looked out a few weeks ago and some hummingbirds were 'sniffing' around in the flowers...so I put out a feeder. Within a few days, there were more...and more...and tons more. Now, they are in full force. I have three feeders out, so does my next door neighbor, and they're plenty busy. I took this shot of a buff-bellied yesterday. Ron was nice enough to put a 'squirrel-proof' bird feeder for me out in the back and that too is plenty busy. So many birds here - Corpus Christi has been named the Birdiest City in America through data collected by annual bird counts. We are in a major flyway, and have both shore and land birds. The hawks are also migrating right now -- people come from all over to see dozens of them in 'kettles' (kinda like a herd, only a hawk travels in kettles...don't ask me who came up with this) traveling over points a bit south of where I live. I've been told you can see as many as 500 in an afternoon, all kinds of hawks, passing through. It's wonderful, beautiful and truly amazing to think of these birds traveling thousands of miles to their come here and escape brutal winters elsewhere. Even more amazing is how people here get into all of this -- hummingbird feeders are hard to find in the stores as the flowering plants were kept to a minimum this year due to severe drought we are suffering. So, the birds are flocking to the feeders, and people are flocking to keep them filled. Awesome.

Welcome Dr. Bones!

After being at Texas A&M - Corpus Christi for six years I finally have my teaching lab pretty well set up, so now I can get those things I would 'like' to have instead of things you 'have' to have with lab fees. Sooo, I just put this together while my students were working on some projects. They were so excited...and want to make Dr. Bones some outfits. Wonder what he's going to be for Halloween???
Oh, I also got 8 table top skeleton models for when we start studying skeletal system. They are going to be SUPER excited :)

So how's the family?

It seems my family is all over the place, but this weekend Jen and Scott attended a wedding in the northeast. Jen was a bridesmaid, and also played the piano for the wedding. Scott celebrating some good grades he earned on his med school exams. So proud of them:

Annie, John and Audrey are doing great in California. Audrey's last name will soon be Lyles and here they are among the redwoods:

 Annie and John just celebrated their first wedding anniversary...here they are in the judges chambers at the courthouse about one year ago:

Last but certainly not least, my precious Audrey antiquing with her Mommy...  :)

I miss them so much but have booked a trip to go see them soon and give mucho hugs and kisses!

Problems and Dreams

It seems that there has been a bunch on my plate lately. Problems at work - good problems, a result of a program that I've helped to create that is going into it's 6th and final year of funding, is now being institutionalized. That means, it's going BIG. Which means more work, more students, more rooms needed, more students...I wake up in a cold sweat thinking of yet another thing I need to do to make this successful. Then, there is my granddaughter who I have not seen except for a brief visit in June. I miss her so much it hurts inside. I get a card from her and I cry... I see a picture of her in her first-day-to-school clothes (that I sent) and her backpack (almost as big as she is) and I cry. And then there are the day to day things I deal with, students who need help - sometimes A LOT of help, more and more committees and work and ...well.Today I decided it was time to settle down and solve some problems....

-- Made several phone calls and got the classrooms (17 of them) that I needed at certain times during the week for our grant work. It's a miracle but in the end, I just wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. No more waking up at night worrying about this...yay!
-- Made flight reservations to go to California and spend a long weekend with Annie, Audrey and John -- and maybe Jen!!! I can't wait!!! I will miss a day of classes...somehow I don't think my students will mind :)
--Solved some problems I was given by Faculty Senate...more checks off the list.
--Scheduled my Master's graduate student for her thesis defense...now she HAS to finish writing
(and will graduate in December)!
 --Am bound and determined to complete the 18 mile training run scheduled for this Saturday. A least the weather is a bit cooler. 4 a.m start time....
--Downloaded some more cool tunes for the above -- gotta keep shuffling!

I know, it's not what our President has to contend with, but at least it's a start. My heart feels lighter....maybe I'll even run a little faster :)

Labor Day II - continued

I cleaned up the shells --- they are sooo beautiful. Next, need to find a shadowbox and give them a permanent home. Stay tuned...

Labor Day Weekend 2011

...was awesome. Lots of stuff to do, and we did, including:
*pizza party - tons of homemade pizza and lots of friends, both old and new, at my friend Kathy's house. Great way to kick-start a three day weekend!
* went to two movies -- both were good, though in different ways. Super entertaining.
* reclaimed my patio/backyard area from the birdies (read: Clean up seed and guano), weeded, filled hummingbird feeders which are SUPER busy right now. Just in time for pleasant cold front to enjoy outside!
*14 mile training run, done by 8:00 a.m. to beat the heat.
* cooked sausage at the beach and was greeted by lots of cool finds including awesome shells, a WHOLE sand dollar and these awesome Pen shells that are found here and in Florida --- never saw them before and we found FOUR whole (bivalves still connected) ones. Just gorgeous. The sausage were delicious.  An awesome, awesome weekend with great company and new discoveries....

New Title

Today marks the first day of my new title - Associate Professor. I have been introduced at college meetings the pat two weeks with new title, and last Friday the Provost had a reception for me and the 15 others throughout Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi who were also promoted in 2011. Fifteen sounds like a lot -- we recently learned that over 60 went up for promotion last year at our university. Therefore, most were denied. I know God was working on my behalf. As soon as I gave up, took my hands off the steering wheel and turned the process over to Him, things went incredibly and miraculously smoothly as papers got published, grants were funded and teaching became effortless -- or at least it appeared that way :)

There are new business cards and other associated forms of identity that have been revised and/or reprinted. The old went into the recycling bin -- no longer appropriate. I received a small but appreciated payraise -- especially in light of the huge budget cuts that hit the education system in Texas. No one is getting a payraise or merit raise or even a cost of living raise this year - unless you were promoted.  But, there are new responsibilities as well. More work, more mentoring, and way more committees to sit on/chair/keep up with. It's all part of the deal. And I welcome them all.

I am elated and spent the summer revamping some science content curriculum that needed updating and revising another manuscript that will soon be published. And playing...for the first summer since I've been here -- going to the beach, reading books that aren't related to science education, and traveling. It's been AWESOME.

I am so thankful. And, thinking of the day when I will make Full Professor. Maybe. Right now I am going to enjoy the fruits of my labor :)