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. 

Webbing

I started my searching with the Financial Implications:

·         Reviewed my Teachers’ Retirement Fund account

·         Reviewed my Social Security statement

·         Reviewed our retirement plan that our financial planner prepares each year

·         Signed up for a Retirement Seminar offered at school

There are hundreds of websites, but I found most of them just provided “general” information about retirement.  Annette Lamb’s 8W’s model states of the Webbing (Searching) stage, “One piece of information may lead to new questions and areas of interest” I got side-tracked on many of my searches reading about retirement and baby boomers.  I had to force myself to concentrate on the task at hand.  Hopefully, I can come back to that topic at a later time.

I also created a survey about retirement that I’m sending out to everyone I know who is retired. 

That’s it for today.  Indianapolis is hosting a little event called the Super Bowl so we are heading downtown to enjoy the festivities!

Reflecting / Investigating

The Inquiry Page (Ask, Investigate, Create, Discuss, Reflect) – Continuous Cycle

(Bruce, Bishop, and Bryan 2003)  First, I am going to reflect

From the Information Search Process (ISP) developed by Carol Kuhlthau (1994):  “Initiation:  Feeling:  apprehension and uncertainty.”  I am much more comfortable with a project that requires “memorization.”  I’m really pretty good at that!    From Information Power, (Mancall, Aaaron, Walker, 1986):  “Our educational system focuses primarily on teaching youth “what” to think rather than “how” to think.  I am a product of that system!  I was so uncomfortable with this project, I thought about dropping the class.  However, I realized I am probably feeling the same way that many students feel when asked to “think.”  Maybe all teachers need to “re-experience” that feeling. 

I have also done some investigating.  I found several Indiana Standards for my project:

Guidance 3-5 2.7  List jobs that relate to their hobbies and/or leisure activities and Personal Finance PF 1.1.8 – Develop Strategies and goals for retirement and estate planning. 

I went to the library and found many valuable resources on retirement.  The New Retirement, The Ultimate Guide to The Rest of Your Life, by Jan Cullinane and Cathy Fitzgerald and Looking Forward, An Optimist’s Guide to Retirement, by Ellen Freudenheim just to name a few.  I even ran into a retired teacher who volunteers at the library.  She has agreed to take my survey on retirement!

Wondering

I come from a very large family (6 sisters and 2 brothers) and my mother is 95 years old and in great health.  They are all retired except my brother and me!  I always laugh on my way to work, thinking I’m supporting their social security checks!  As my husband I were brainstorming ideas for my blog, we both realized how little we know about retirement and really how little thought we have given to it.  My focus of this project is to become more educated on the subject and prepare for the future. 

I have decided to divide my wondering into four categories:  Personal implications, financial implications, social implementations and logistical implementations.

Personal Implications
            Do I want to retire?

            Does my work define me as a person?

            What will I do with my time if I retire?

Financial Implications

            Can I afford to retire?

            How will retirement affect my spending habits?

Social Implications

            How will retirement affect my family?

            How will retirement affect my lifestyle?

            What are my friends’ thoughts on retirement?

            How do people I know that have retired view retirement?

Logistical Implementations

            What age can I retire?

            If I retire from teaching, can I still work?  Are there restrictions on how many hours or how much money I can make?

            How will this affect my insurance and benefits?

Watching

The first topics I thought of were related to my position as an educator and elementary librarian.  Such topics as The Role of the Media Specialist in the Elementary Setting, Author Studies, The Balanced Calendar or Specials Teachers Evaluations.  However, when I reread the words, “Your topic should be something that you are truly interested in exploring,” I decided to look inward.   

To me RETIREMENT is a scary word.  I knew in the first grade that I wanted to be a teacher and feel very blessed to have worked in that capacity for many years.  However, changes are taking place in education that may affect my future employment.  For the last two years, the media specialists in all the buildings have been on the top of the RIF (Reduction In Force) list.  Our high school media specialist resigned at the end of last year and was not replaced.  Our teachers’ union role has diminished and we have committees that are looking at evaluating all positions in the schools.  Therefore, I have decided to create this blog to examine the many facets of retirement.

I plan to have "fun" with this topic.  I don't think I have ever used the word "fun" and "assignment" in the same sentence!