Physical changes affect the emotional mind

I was FINALLY catching up on some feed reading when I found an old entry of Miguel Guhlin's (who had 81 entries in the past few weeks) about cool blog habits. His first addition to Cool Cat Teacher's 10 was "Consider everything you do as fuel for your blog". I've struggle with this recently because I find I can't seem to make links between my current life and my blogging topics. But this inspired me to share a little about my weekend. With struggles as my AmeriCorps year ends and life in San Jose changes for me, I've myself challenged to make emotional changes in my life. On top of the help of a friend with excellent listening skills, I've found a way to make this easier for myself. I rearranged my living space. It was a slow process through out the weekend, but from moving around furniture and getting rid of unnecessary items, I feel renewed. I am re-energized to be strong and start anew.

This has gotten me thinking about the many adult students at the San Jose Conservation Corps Academy who have been through bad times and come to our school to start fresh working toward their high school diploma. I watch students become empowered when put in new surroundings and given responsibilities. With the ability to change their physical surroundings through the new building, help with recruitment and Student Council, some students take on an enthusiasm you'd never expect.

It re-enforces the idea that the TakingITGlobal Student Voices group discussed a year ago for NECC 2005: "We would like to contribute to the design of these learning spaces. Giving us a chance to impact the spaces in which we learn gives us an added sense of responsibility, passion, and connection." I can see student continually creating and recreating the space they work in. It fits along with one of the reasons why students love MySpace so much--it's customizable.