A Sense of Purpose

From 24-30 August

Last week, at "Professional Development Day", I was asked to give a 40-minute presentation to all of my new co-workers. Imagine, barely one month into a new job, having to hold the attention of relative strangers - many of whom could already be certain they don't need to hear what you have to say. It was daunting, to say the least. Even though I was just a segment of a two-hour presentation by the IT department, I had the biggest segment. After the whole thing was over, my boss told me that everything we'll be doing in the next six months (and had been doing for several months prior) was riding on that presentation... I was glad he waited till *after* I spoke to tell me that!

In the days that followed, I had innumerable teachers and support staff tell me how informative the presentation was and how excited they are to start using the technologies we discussed. (I won't go into too much detail about the technologies we're using at this point, but I'll explain it all in the near future!) It was heartwarming for me to be in the midst of teachers who are willing to adapt their teaching styles to meet the needs of their 21st-Century students - "Digital Natives" as they are sometimes called.

Shortly thereafter, Apple (the computer company) sent some of their educational experts to visit both schools. Even though I've only been employed here for a few weeks, I was exceedingly proud to hear them say that we're doing everything as best we can, especially for being on the bleeding edge of educational technology in Australia. I was proud for the schools, but I was also proud of the work I know I have/will contribute to the mission of educational technology. It was very reassuring to hear experts talk about how much they would love to work for one/both of the schools if they could. Too bad I beat them to it! :)

Most important, though, was the *combination* of the response from teachers to the PD day presentation and Apple education's response to the schools' technology initiatives. It helped bring me a sense of greater purpose as to what exactly I'm doing here; it's easy to get lost in the day-to-day worries and lose track of the big picture. I'm feeling much more confident in both the work that I'm doing and the significance of my work here. In my heart, I know that this combination was the final answer to my perpetual question: "What the heck am I doing here?!" Words cannot describe how much stress has been relieved by having a more tangible sense of purpose in my work!

In the meantime, I've been trying to balance my zeal for my job with other aspects of my life: social, house-hunting, and the occasional sleep cycle. It's not in perfect balance yet, but I can already tell that it's improving! :)