NUDGE

Nudge—my One Little Word for 2012.  Nudge and be nudged.  How did this One Little Word nudge its way into my life in 2012?  Let me count the ways . . .

1.  I got more intentional about nudging students forward in their reading and writing lives by using a new conference-record-keeping tool designed by my mom for the FileMaker Go app on my iPad.

2.  I responded to my husband’s nudge to speak up about my Voices Strong class at a school board meeting.  As a result, I was invited to nudge other teachers to step out of their comfort zones and take on the Voices Strong challenge.

3.  In response to the gift of an iPod shuffle engraved with my One Little Word, I nudged my behind out of bed to run nearly every day over the summer and into the start of the school year.

4.  I started a Staff Writing Group at my school to nudge myself and others to spend more time writing playfully.

5.  I responded to nudges at the Anderson’s Young Adult Literature Conference by helping to form a Literary Team that works together make author visits more meaningful at our school.  Part of my work on that team has been to nudge staff members to read more young adult literature by “booking” them with random copies of some of the best books I’ve read and instructions to sign their names on the inside of the cover after reading, before passing the book on in an effort to nudge another lucky staff member to read it.

6.  I responded to Ruth’s nudges and attended the All-Write Summer Conference for the first time.  There I experienced two days worth of nudges that inspired me to continue seeking revitalizing professional development opportunities.

7. I nudged a colleague of mine to take a risk in her professional life by taking a curriculum coordinator position where I knew she would make a positive impact on our entire district by nudging the right people to make the right decisions.

8.  I responded to nudges, again from Ruth, to become a Twitter user.  More recently, I nudged my husband to sign-up.  What an amazing use of technology to expand our worlds by bringing us closer!

9.  I respond almost daily to my mother’s nudges to live up to the wonderful person she sees in me.  I never feel judged by her, but I want to be as good as she believes I am.  And I try to return the favor by nudging her to continue to find joy in the things she loves most, like sewing and her world of Apple computer expertise. 

10.  My husband and I made the decision to nudge the universe a bit and attempt to have a baby through unconventional means (since the conventional means are not an option for us).  Although each of the attempts was unsuccessful as far as producing a baby, our decision to open ourselves up to the possibilities and the process of trying to create a family has nudged us to grow as individuals and as a couple.