ALMOST CHRISTMAS, 2006...WOW, WHAT A YEAR THIS HAS BEEN!!
Dear Blogger,
This has been an unbelievable year! Who would have ever imagined all of the adventures and experiences we enjoyed during 2006. We were tremendously challenged in so many ways--some were wonderful, enduring challenges, while others were best to be forgotten. If you've followed this Blog, then you surely know the events/circumstances that we hold dear. And the forgettable events/circumstances are probably fairly easy to determine.
The question arises, would we do it all over again? Absolutely! Would we have done some things differently? Absolutely. I went diving into this thing with reckless abandon...and we paid for that kind of enthusiasm, no doubt. They say experience is the best teacher, so given the chance to do this again, there would be some things we would change.
Importantly, I should have listened to our (then) Fulbright Commission mentor, Monica Joi, when she advised me and my family to make different housing arrangements. It was a recommendation that we should have followed. The advice was given to us early on in the exchange and if followed, our time in South Africa would have been much more enjoyable and far less stressful. Hindsight, right?
The school I was assigned to was more than adequate for the exchange. It had technologies that were surely lacking in two out of three of the other exchange schools. As it turned out, my colleagues in those technology-lacking institutions had good, solid experiences at their respective places of work. Perhaps my main complaint was the fact that I was given mostly 8th-graders to teach...a daunting challenge for someone accustomed to upper-grade kids.
No, I take that back. My biggest gripe is that my school's administration did not use my experiences, talents, and abilities to their best advantage. Then again, one might say that I should have gleefully taken what was given to me and turn those 8th-graders into voracious learners, willing to devour my lesson plans for their learning. I tried. Was I successful? No, not on a regular basis. There were, no doubt, some successes...not as many as desired.
Blogger, you know what this Fulbright exchange was all about. You featured many wonderful, exciting photographs during the past year. By no means were you "fed" all of my best photos, but folks knew we had experiences that will never be forgotten. You also know that some folks who read the Blog were less than pleased with my choice of words, etc. I can readily accept that fact; I can not accept the manner in which they personally attacked me.
Anyway, I might have one or two more postings before ending Joburg Journal forever. It has been a lot of fun/it has been stressful too. Would I have changed anything about the Blog? Well, as some of you know, I did just that--change my criticism of that person who singlehandedly caused us so much anguish, pain, and stress. We'll pray for the dude.
So, that's it. Have a terrific Christmas Blogger! And for all of you folks who have tuned in during the past year, have a wonderful, safe, healthy, prosperous New Year!! Yes, ALL of you...
Sincerely,
John C. Davidek
Fulbright South Africa-2006
This has been an unbelievable year! Who would have ever imagined all of the adventures and experiences we enjoyed during 2006. We were tremendously challenged in so many ways--some were wonderful, enduring challenges, while others were best to be forgotten. If you've followed this Blog, then you surely know the events/circumstances that we hold dear. And the forgettable events/circumstances are probably fairly easy to determine.
The question arises, would we do it all over again? Absolutely! Would we have done some things differently? Absolutely. I went diving into this thing with reckless abandon...and we paid for that kind of enthusiasm, no doubt. They say experience is the best teacher, so given the chance to do this again, there would be some things we would change.
Importantly, I should have listened to our (then) Fulbright Commission mentor, Monica Joi, when she advised me and my family to make different housing arrangements. It was a recommendation that we should have followed. The advice was given to us early on in the exchange and if followed, our time in South Africa would have been much more enjoyable and far less stressful. Hindsight, right?
The school I was assigned to was more than adequate for the exchange. It had technologies that were surely lacking in two out of three of the other exchange schools. As it turned out, my colleagues in those technology-lacking institutions had good, solid experiences at their respective places of work. Perhaps my main complaint was the fact that I was given mostly 8th-graders to teach...a daunting challenge for someone accustomed to upper-grade kids.
No, I take that back. My biggest gripe is that my school's administration did not use my experiences, talents, and abilities to their best advantage. Then again, one might say that I should have gleefully taken what was given to me and turn those 8th-graders into voracious learners, willing to devour my lesson plans for their learning. I tried. Was I successful? No, not on a regular basis. There were, no doubt, some successes...not as many as desired.
Blogger, you know what this Fulbright exchange was all about. You featured many wonderful, exciting photographs during the past year. By no means were you "fed" all of my best photos, but folks knew we had experiences that will never be forgotten. You also know that some folks who read the Blog were less than pleased with my choice of words, etc. I can readily accept that fact; I can not accept the manner in which they personally attacked me.
Anyway, I might have one or two more postings before ending Joburg Journal forever. It has been a lot of fun/it has been stressful too. Would I have changed anything about the Blog? Well, as some of you know, I did just that--change my criticism of that person who singlehandedly caused us so much anguish, pain, and stress. We'll pray for the dude.
So, that's it. Have a terrific Christmas Blogger! And for all of you folks who have tuned in during the past year, have a wonderful, safe, healthy, prosperous New Year!! Yes, ALL of you...
Sincerely,
John C. Davidek
Fulbright South Africa-2006
posted by JOBURG JOURNAL at 6:55 PM
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