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LEADERSHIP, LEARNING, &  PErsonal Growth

A New Chapter in My Life 

10/21/2014

12 Comments

 

An exciting journey into the unknown

Picture
Being involved in education and coaching over the past 20 years has allowed me to learn so many important things about life and teaching. However, it wasn’t until the last four or five years that my life has taken on significantly more meaning as I have come to the realization that teaching is a gift, a privilege, and an honour that should always be embraced. 

Many people have heard or read about of a near death experience that took place in my life a few years back while working in Cambodia. Sharing the story on my blog last year was a difficult thing to do, but I knew that doing so would allow me to help put into perspective why I love doing what I do which is teaching and learning as much as I can about the important things in life. 

The accident gave me the courage and strength to let go of fear and to be the person I was always meant to be. I truly strive to make a difference to those whose paths I have been lucky enough to cross. I love inspiring others to be the best that they can be whether it be a student, a colleague, a friend, a family member, or someone I just met. This is what drives and inspires me to be the best person and educator I can be. 

Blogging and becoming a socially connected educator has been one of the most rewarding journeys I have ever embarked on as it has led to so many incredible learning opportunities, both personally and professionally. As life around us continues to change at an ever-blinding pace, it can never be forgotten that people are the world’s most valuable resource. It is people that matter to me, in particular the young learners of today. 

The greatest gift we can ever bestow upon a young people is to push them on a path that allows them to achieve whatever it is they set their minds to. To give them the tools necessary to help build their confidence, to strengthen their mindset, and be difference makers in a time when the world needs it the most. 

Although I am passionate about teaching young people, I have decided that I am going to embark on a new chapter in my life. My wife, Neila Steele, has been one of my biggest supporters and has made me realize that this is something that I must do. Neila has given me the final push needed to make this dream a reality. 

I have decided that I am going to pursue a full-time career in teacher training. My ultimate desire is to inspire teachers to deliver the best learning experiences possible for the students under their care and guidance and I will strive to do this through writing, consulting, presenting and leading workshops around the world. A long time goal that I never thought I could achieve but now know that I can. 

Over the past few years, I have loved documenting real life experiences of teaching my students and sharing their successes. It has always fired me up to create and share actual assessment strategies that I have developed and use in my classes. It pains me that after June 2015, I will no longer be able to blog about my own teaching anymore, but I will devote my time to blogging about the things that I feel are most important when it comes to teaching practice. 

I will continue to share teaching and assessment ideas with regularity on my blog and truly hope that the readers who have visited my website up until now will continue to support the work that I do. After all, my work has always been about helping teachers get better. In the process of sharing my work, I have also become a much better educator as well.

If my work has meant something to you, I have a simple favor to ask of you. Please share my work, my vision, and and my blog with any educators that you feel will benefit from my philosophy and approach. This is all I ask. Thanks for your continued support and happy teaching to you all. 



_above image used from 
lostinsampa.wordpress.com


12 Comments
Mike DeNeef link
10/21/2014 03:36:24 pm

You got it bud - will continue to pass this valuable resource on. I would like to also ask your permission to quote/reference paragraph 4 pretty much verbatim for EARCOS presentation.

Reply
andyvasily@staff.nanjing-school.com link
10/26/2014 11:46:04 am

Hey Mike, thanks for your comments and best of luck with your EARCOS presentation. Hope it goes well. I'd be more than happy if you used the paragraph 4 quote.

Reply
Sandijs link
10/22/2014 02:33:25 am

I can not thank you enough Andy for what you have done with your blog to help me become a teacher I am now. I am visiting your blog since 2012 and I have learned so many great things form you! Thank you for being out there for me and hundreds of other PE teachers, thanks for leading and inspiring us to be the best we can possibly be! There are many great teachers we can learn from, but you are definitely the TOP 1!
I am sure your next chapter in teacher training will be very successful and I really hope that one day I can meet you and talk to you!

Reply
andyvasily@staff.nanjing-school.com link
10/26/2014 11:47:52 am

Hey Sandjis, your words mean a lot to me. I find it very rewarding to know my work is valued by other teachers and making a difference. This keeps me going and motivates me to keep this blog alive and flowing with ideas for teachers. In the process of sharing, I always become a better educator as well. Thanks!

Reply
John
10/22/2014 11:30:53 am

Godspeed, my friend! The Universe opens itself to those who trust.

Reply
andyvasily@staff.nanjing-school.com link
10/26/2014 11:49:30 am

Hey John, I have nothing but the highest respect for you as a teacher and love watching you work with kids. I've been lucky enough to have both my kids in your classes. You've taught them a lot and have captured their interest in Design Thinking. Thanks for your comments and continued support of my work.

Reply
Toby link
10/22/2014 09:19:45 pm

A loyal customer in Shanghai mate, glad to be part of your journey. We are looking forward to the next chapter and continuing the great work we've started.

Reply
andyvasily@staff.nanjing-school.com link
10/26/2014 11:51:04 am

Hey Toby, working with you and your department has been a treat. One of my favorite things is to work with individual departments helping to make already good teachers better at what they do. It brings me a lot of satisfaction. Look fwd to my December visit to your school. Thanks for the comment.

Reply
Joey link
10/23/2014 08:11:38 am

You know I have nothing but love for ya, bud. I'm so pumped that you are taking this leap. Three questions:
1. How are you going to make your last year as a teacher count?
2. How will you make your first year as a teacher trainer count?
3. What is one teaching moment of your incredible career as a teacher that you'll never forget?

Reply
andyvasily@staff.nanjing-school.com link
10/26/2014 11:53:13 am

As always Joey, you have me thinking! Loved your three questions so much that I had to reflect and answer them as honestly as I could in this blog post http://www.pyppewithandy.com/pyp-pe-blog/reflection-a-critical-part-of-good-teaching-practice.

Thanks for the endless work you put into sharing your excellence on ThePhysicalEducator.com.

Looking fwd to years of collaboration with you my friend.

Reply
Perry Tkachuk link
10/25/2014 11:56:23 am

Hi Andy,

Congratulations on your decision. I have learned so much from following your blog. Though our school and the vast majority of our staff are very new to the PYP, your insights and examples have been extremely helpful in teaching and inspiring us to make the most of our PYP journeys so far.

All the best!

Perry

Reply
andyvasily@staff.nanjing-school.com link
10/26/2014 11:54:48 am

Hey Perry, thanks very much for your comments here. I appreciate the feedback and find it very rewarding that my work reaches other educators in the PYP. Thanks for taking the time to visit my website.

Reply



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    KAUST Faculty, Pedagogical Coach. Presenter & Workshop Leader.IB Educator. #RunYourLife podcast host. 
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Helping Kids to Achieve Their Best
  • Welcome
  • The Aligned Leader Blog
  • Consulting and Coaching Opportunities
  • My TED X Talk
  • My Leadership Blog
  • Run Your Life Podcast Series
  • How PYP PE with Andy Has Helped Others
  • Good Teaching is L.I.F.E
  • The Sportfolio
  • Example Assessment Tasks
  • PYP Attitude Posters (printable)
  • Publications