Sunflowers have long been one of my favourite flowers; I grew a row of monsters along the front of our porch early on in my life as a wife and mother. I love their cheerful, bright faces; the abundance of birds (especially chickadees) they attract, and the distinction of having been known as “the house with the sunflowers out front”. It turns out that my maternal grandmother had also always loved sunflowers, and since she died only a few short days before I began this journey into a Master of Education in Educational Technology, it is partly in honour of her life and example that I am working with a theme of sunflowers.
Sunflowers, you see, turn their faces to the sun throughout the day. There is great beauty in this; a concrete reminder to turn one’s face to seek truth and justice, to walk in faith. Within my metaphorical journey as a M.Ed. student, I see it representative of delving into the world of research, learning about new and emerging technologies, and continually striving to gather information pertinent to this degree and my interests within educational technology.
Though not all sunflowers grow to prodigious proportions, they do channel the energy of the sun into growth — from seedling to bloom to ripened seeds. Transplanted into my scenario, it means that after seeking and gathering research and information, I will be able to then expand my horizons and my understanding of educational technology, to find new or more efficient ways of seeing and doing those tasks which are core to my role as a teacher.
Upon reaching the end of the end of the growing season, sunflowers scatter seeds from their heads, sowing a new generation of beauty which will emerge the following spring. In reference to my M.Ed. degree, I will have an opportunity to turn new insights and ideas into actionable pieces which I hope to enthusiastically share with colleagues, administrators and students alike.
I live in the Edmonton region of Alberta, Canada. I am the oldest of seven children; the wife of a wonderfully complicated yet tenderhearted man; mother of four beautiful, maddening, precious children; a teacher in the online world since 2011; a lover of horses and reading and mathematics and the etymology of words, and of the out-of-doors and physical fitness and playing lacrosse; and of dark chocolate (but not olives. I still. Just. Do. Not. Like. Olives.).
Seek. Grow. Share.