something shiny, something new
when I arrive with new things to do
googley apps, googley draw
fresh faced students with eager paws
eyes like saucers, hair a wreck
when I walk in, it’s all about tech
a newfound joy as I teach K-12
and with all ages I get to delve
for decades work was much the same
sometimes sun, sometimes rain
till a flyer I spotted on a wall up high
and knew I just had to apply
to this foundation, to join this group
of amazing people who know the scoop
of the ed biz, inside and out
and once accepted, to the clouds I’d shout
up to the rooftops, to the stars
with my RF13ers, the world was ours
to hold with hope, dedication and devotion
I’d never seen so much emotion,
love and care, listen and talk
at complex problems never balk
so there I was, my career injected
with a shot of adrenaline, now connected
to friends I’d never known,
steered off course, but felt like home
then off I’d watch, towards tomorrow
foundation fellows, dreams in tow
landing new jobs and new positions
in new schools they sailed, tacticians
of their futures, their gaze cast ahead
with the gospel of rowland set to spread
it took me time, intransigent self
to lift my spine from my bookshelf,
and act 46 certainly did its part
to fire intentions within my heart
so off I’ve flown, off I’ve gone,
walked across a brand new lawn
to job that’s new, a job that’s taut
a job that was exactly what I sought
tapping the range of new found skills
to spread ed tech like daffodils
on a springtime hillside, speaking to all
how to transform school while having a ball
let’s laugh, let’s learn, let us engage
watch lives play out across a stage
in ways that inspire, in ways that reveal
a child’s truth, so she can feel
happy to be alive, insane self worth
a needed human being upon this earth
Colin McKaig, Rowland Fellow, 2013
I was an English teacher at Black River High School for 25 amazing years. I now serve as the first Technology Integration Coach for the Springfield School District. Go Cosmos!
