Do you know what my favorite part of the weekend is?! Of course not, I don’t even know what seems “so wow,” but it doesn’t matter… it’s that period of time when I feel like I’m extending my life! Yes, I love doing that! How do I do it? Well, it’s simple! I wake up much earlier than usual (usually, I wake up at a maximum of 6:30 a.m.). For example, today I woke up half an hour later than 5 a.m. Yes, I’m very much a morning person! I don’t like this activity that involves sleep; I find it a waste of time… plus there are so many things to do (not today, until now at 7:43, a coffee and my husband kept me company (as another parenthesis, I’m also married to a wonderful husband, most of you already know this)… I don’t know which parenthesis to close, but it doesn’t matter, the essential thing is that you understood!
I want to tell you a bit about this week (although, it’s hard for me to admit, it was a full week). A week in which I realized (as I was saying the other day) that everything I do, I do well, and I’m overly proud of myself. Parenthesis (I’m at an age where it’s very important to form my own opinion, give myself advice about an activity, or any action in my life, and if it satisfies me, then I’m sure I’m doing what is beneficial for everyone – arrogant, you would say; well, no, a little more than confident).
Let’s continue, a week that seemed to be boring (5 days of classes, including 2 of theory – uhhh). It wasn’t like that! The course was about gamification. That way of taking a manual (I chose history – as it represents a challenge to how boring it is (everywhere in the world) and thinking, after a structure, carefully and friendly consulting the curriculum, dispelling monotony. I hate the moment when I hear around me “well, now let’s open the manual!” – it’s the beginning when, as a teacher, you cut off the connection between you and the student, and that’s not your purpose…). The two days of theory were extraordinarily well-structured, and, as the gamification master, Azael Herrero, said, I perceived them with a smile on my face, with enthusiasm, curiosity, and gratitude (gratitude because I had already applied most of the theory intuitively in another project). On Wednesday, we saw and tested useful applications for gamification, discovering that there are many digital ways to make our work easier! On Thursday, we each prepared a chapter or even an entire discipline for a specific class for the gamification process. We were divided into pairs, each choosing either a discipline that was challenging for them or a chapter that was harder to understand. We worked a lot, we stayed overtime, we came in the morning, we worked… time is important, always, but yesterday I felt that a second makes a difference! Joking, it wasn’t about a second (because it wasn’t a life or death thing, and no one would “cut” me if I was a little late with the presentation – it seemed more exciting 🙈) so yes, time is important! We didn’t manage to finish everything (I’m talking about my team – me with Mr. Stefan, the PE teacher), but we were very satisfied with our work – not that we’re boasting, but they were among the best projects. Creativity was at home, and teamwork gave us the chance to realize how important it is to know when to give in and when to assert ourselves (and now I’m talking very seriously).
I was talking about yesterday, Friday, the day we presented the gamified lessons/material. I repeat, it takes much more time (we had about 9 hours available), but the beginning of each of us is good; we just have to complete to finish some wonderful projects.
It’s 8:15, and my mother just called me! I didn’t answer her; I wanted to finish my thought! Don’t forget to follow your own purpose, your mission on Earth, and love yourselves more! You won’t be selfish, but you’ll appreciate yourselves more! Only you can do it!
With enthusiasm,
Primary and Preschool Teacher,
Loredana Mihaela Mariaș
