Generally I like to finish what I start even if the work is tough and challenging.
I like to be a part of the team to the end.
Yet as I looked at the expectations ahead, the time it would take to fulfill those expectations, the missed events due to the schedule, and the knowledge gain, I decided that I had received what I had intended to learn and more of the course would mean less of other areas of life--areas that matter right now such as family, personal pursuits, and the work needed for the school year ahead.
I gained a lot from three days of study. I gathered the following important learning points:
- Affirmation and exemplars of the role of visual literacy with regard to math learning.
- Review of the fraction, ratio, and proportion standards.
- A deeper look at the expectations with regard to math teaching.
- Multiple project/problem types, online resources, and pedagogical models.
The rest of the course would mean digging into these learning points with greater depth and I will do that as the school year starts on my school schedule rather than the course schedule. Hence, I used the edcamp rule of voting with your feet and left the course about half way along.
This isn't the first time I've quit. Way back, I left an online course that didn't fit my family schedule at that time, and early in my career I left the doctoral program because again I felt I couldn't meet the doctoral responsibilities on top of my family and school responsibilities.
For me, family is always first when it comes to the big decisions and my classroom has always come second. Other matters and decisions typically take place behind those two priorities.
My family might argue that the classroom beats them out at times, and I will agree that does occur.
When you make decisions to join, stay, or leave who comes first? Do you ever just stick with an event because you joined in the first place, or do you sometimes make the decision to quit?
Quitting is not an easy choice, but sometimes it's the right choice. Do you agree?
