Why River?

I thought I might share the reasons behind my blog name, 'The Teaching River' and my Twitter handle @jdtriver. I hope that this gives some insight. By pure coincidence the school I work at is called Riverside, but this is not where the river name originated.

I believe our lives as teachers is like a river. We start our careers flowing along from a starting point. Then as we progress through our careers, we have many different streams flow into this river - influences from friends, family, colleagues, communities, our students. Then as the river flows, we go through calm patches - the periods where everything just runs smoothly in our classes. Then there is a series of rapids, filled with ups and downs - teaching goes through so many emotional and stressful phases, but the river does not stop and nor does your teaching. Then there are the streams that flow out from a river. This is where we influence people and make a difference in their lives and they go on their own way. Eventually the river will reach the ocean, and this symbolises how teaching never ends and the legacy you create in your students goes out to the rest of the world.

Life does not happen in isolation, we all are influenced by others and in turn influence people. I know that my life as a teacher I will go through many phases, ups and downs, and that they are all part of my own learning journey.  This is how I see the link with a river, the continuos flow of developing my own skills, learning, gaining knowledge and wisdom, being a role model, a positive influence and mentor to my students.