Weaving, Wrapping, Waving & Wishing

Weaving

Weaving took place throughout the entire project as I was organizing my ideas and formulating plans.  Weaving is a perfect name for this process.  When I reviewed my initial questions, I realized I would not have time to research all of them.  However, the research I did will help me formulate more questions as this is an ongoing quest for me.  Part of the inquiry process is everything may not be “tied up in a neat little bow.” 

“Individuals carry on the process of inquiry from the time they are born until they die. This is true even though they might not reflect upon the process. Joe Exline  http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/inquiry/index.html

Taking time to “reflect” was an "Aha" moment for me.  I am glad I weaved reflection into the process.

Wrapping

I’m having trouble “wrapping” up the project.  This has been a “stepping stone” for me in my exploration on the road to retirement.

Waving

Many of the participants in my survey asked to see my final project.  I am going to share the concept map and chart and overall thoughts, but my final project is for my personal use. 

Wishing

I found this project exhausting.  It is a different type of learning than I’m use to and I felt very insecure throughout the process.  It highlights the point that students need to start the inquiry method at a young age.  The Super3 would be a good model to use.  http://www.big6.com/kids/K-2.htm.  It also points out the need for staff development so teachers are aware of all the models available to them and their students.  For me, it also brings out the fact that students need guidance during the process.  I thrive in a face-to-face class as I miss that interaction. 

“Ultimately, the importance of inquiry learning is that students learn how to continue learning. This is something they can take with them throughout life -- beyond parental help and security, beyond a textbook, beyond the time of a master teacher, beyond school -- to a time when they will often be alone in their learning”. Joe Exline http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/inquiry/index_sub2.html

Final Project  

Road to Retirement Checklist

	Can I afford to retire?
	Continue to work full time until age 62
	Take the PRAXIS test to complete my media specialist certification
	Continue to meet with financial advisor on a yearly basis
	Fill out financial worksheet on spending habits annually
	Develop personally rewarding activities NOW
	Rejoin book club
	Find a more “fulfilling” church
	Work on relationships with family and friends
	Rejoin a Bible study
	Develop hobbies to share with my husband
	Build self-worth
	Volunteer
	Exercise more
	Eat healthy
	Help others
	Continue Research
	What part time job would I be interested in?
	What part time job am I qualified for?
	How many days a week do I want to work?

Wiggling

Bertram C. Bruce states, “For any question or problem, a learner should think of asking, investigating, creating, discussing, and reflecting as means for its resolution” from the website, “Using the Web to Support Inquiry-Based Literacy Development.” By Bertram C. Bruce and Ann P. Bishop
http://www.readingonline.org/electronic/JAAL/5-02_Column/index.html

It is time to stop and reflect on the status of my project and where I need to go.  I am going back to review the questions I started with (Watching, Wondering).  I started out with 4 categories, but I have discovered they all intermingle.  For example, the financial implications have a bearing on the social implications. (Webbing) I searched for insights in books, the Internet, and people who have retired.  I’m ready to “weave” and wrap up the project……..although it’s only the beginning.

Webbing V

Retirement survey (teachers)

I used Survey Monkey, a free online survey tool to create my survey.  I then sent the survey out using Outlook, an e-mail application. I had 16 responses to my survey and the participants have been retired from 1 – 8 years.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MSMQKDK

How do you fill your time?

Has retirement impacted your self-image or feelings of self-worth?

• My self-esteem is up because I don’t have parents judging me or students smarting off to me!
• There was some adjustment required to go from an in charge classroom teacher to being an ordinary citizen.
• I do miss some aspects of teaching/working, and I guess my self-image has changed because I’m no longer a teacher. 

General thoughts about retirement

• Good health is important
• Important to be financially secure
• A more relaxing time of life

I found many retirement quizzes on the Internet by googling “retirement quizzes.”  Many of the quizzes dealt with financial issues.  However I found an interesting one Ladies Home Journal, “Quiz:  Are  You Really Ready to Think About Retirment?”

http://www.lhj.com/lhj/quiz.jsp?catref=lcat77&quizId=/templatedata/lhj/quiz/data/AreYouReadyToRetireQuiz_04222003.xml

My Results

Don't Quit Your Job Just Yet

You've thought about retirement, but you should do some serious planning before you take the plunge. Though you have some ideas about what you might want to do with your time, and other thoughts about what it will mean to leave your career behind, you need to come up with a stronger plan before you retire. “The American way of retirement has been sold to us as one of continual leisure and recreation," says Joanne Fritz, creator of NotYetRetired.com, based in Phoenix, Ariz. "A lot of people coming into retirement now -- the baby boomers -- have a whole different take on things. Fritz says today's retirees are planning on doing instead of simply resting. They're planning for more structured activities, including volunteering and even starting new businesses and learning new skills -- activities they couldn't do when they were working. As exciting as the prospect of doing something new may sound, you can't get started without good planning. Of course, no amount of planning will guarantee your retirement will be all that you hope, but you can take steps so that you're well prepared for anything that comes your way.

This led me to another great website, http://ww2.notyetretired.com/, which I will explore later.

I may have spent too much time on the “webbing” stage.  I still need more “structure” when working on a project – in other words, deadlines.  I work with students in K-5 and they also need that structure.  That is one reason; I plan on using the Big6 model with them.

http://www.crlsresearchguide.org/Big_Six_Steps.asp

Webbing IV

Just finished the book, Looking Forward, An Optimist’s Guide to Retirement by Ellen Freudenheim

Thoughts from the book and my response to them:

Am I a workaholic?  For me the answer is “Yes.” I fantasize about all the things people say they love doing during retirement, but I want to work.  One in three people over 65 work at least part time!  That’s good news for me!

The author talks about the “rhythm in retirement” and asks the question, “What’s yours?”  That’s why I’m “webbing.” 

Retirement Zone - - a new term for a new stage of your life:  This really helped me think about retirement as a new stage of life versus a destination. 

For a few months (or even a year) you might feel you’re in transition. “You don’t change in retirement from the person you were before,” comments Rogenstein.  “You may change what you do on a daily basis, but you bring your little red wagon with you… So if you think when you retire, you are going to just sit, and you’re an active person, well that’s not going to happen.”

I'm feeling better about the project.  I never really thought about "researching" issues in my personal life - that is something you did at school.  Interesting. 

Webbing III

I started with the AARP website because I have “heard about AARP.”  Thanks to Cathy’s post, I decided to explore the website further and found many interesting articles.  I always tell my colleagues (who give me grief about taking classes) that I’m going home to “exercise” my brain.  I found a great article the lists 10 easy ways to keep my mind fit forever!

Age Proof You Brain

10 easy ways to keep you mind fit forever by Beth Howard | from AARP The Magazine | Feb. /Mar. 2012 issue

 3) Seek out new skills
Learning spurs the growth of new brain cells. "When you challenge the brain, you increase the number of brain cells and the number of connections between those cells," says Keith L. Black, M.D., chair of neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. "But it's not enough to do the things you routinely do — like the daily crossword. You have to learn new things, like sudoku or a new form of bridge."
UCLA researchers using MRI scans found that middle-aged and older adults with little Internet experience could trigger brain centers that control decision-making and complex reasoning after a week of surfing the net. "Engaging the mind can help older brains maintain healthy functioning," says Cynthia R. Green, Ph.D., author of 30 Days to Total Brain Health

Webbing Update

I'm getting responses to my retirement survey.  Very interesting.  I'll share the results later. 

Webbing II

I did the unthinkable today………I explored the AARP site!  http://www.aarp.org/    This is a well-known site for “older Americans.”  My husband and I receive an AARP packet every month in the mail and are still in denial that it could be going to the right address!  I was surprised at the range of articles.  (Don’t tell my husband, but I’m thinking about joining).  I came back to a quote from the Information Search Process (ISP) developed by Carol Kuhlthau 1994):  “Initiation:  Feeling:  apprehension and uncertainty.”  How do we get our students to explore the “uncomfortable” questions that may arise when investigating?  I thought this project was going to be “fun” but it’s also a little painful! 

Interesting news today from my school system…the high school media specialist retired at the end of the last year and they did not replace her until now.  They have replaced her with a “library manager” – a non-certified employee.