The End Of The Beginning...

All great things must come to an end and the GTS is no exception. we wrapped up this amazing week and all of its great experiences by sharing a quote or passage from a book or article that we had been asked to bring with us. It was a quiet and subdued group that took turns reading (perhaps the end of the week, perhaps the going out of business sale at the Wooden Fish), but there were a lot of heartfelt and meaningful things said.

We then had our final exam - in small groups we did our best to represent what a great teacher is. Given no instructions and an hour to prepare, the results were amazing (BTW, this task with no instructions given idea is an amazing one that I will be employing in my practice).

So here is what we came up with:

A circle of great teachers looking in on each other

HMCS GTS to the rescue of learning

Celebrating great teachers in song

We wrapped up this amazing experience by telling each other what we were thinking - some amazing and powerful stuff. Our last acts were to thank each other by shaking each other's hands, and enjoying a group hug.

The last act of the GTS was to recognize and thank the man behind the GTS movement. Somehow just saying "thank you David" seems so inadequate, but we did anyway.


What an amazing experience - I will be thinking about and absorbing this week for some time to come. If you are an educator who has not been to a GTS, run, do not walk to the nearest one that you can attend. You will not regret it and you and your learners will be better for it. If you need any evidence of the effect of the GTS, just look at this great group of great teachers

And one more - the taker of the group photo, creator of "Jelly Time", and a big part of our Great Teacher group - Dave Jellicoe

This blog is not done, it's just the end of the beginning. Now comes the reflection on and the implementation of this mind, life, and practice altering AHA! event. That and trying to figure out how to come back next year, and the year after, and the year after that...