I have recently put together a professional teaching portfolio.  I wanted it to reflect who I am as well as what I have learned and accomplished in the area of education.  The cover is the picture below.  I decided that this needed some explanation, so I included the following in the cover of the document.

COVER PHOTO EXPLAINED

The photograph on the cover of this portfolio is a picture taken a few years ago near Owego, New York. I have just found a “hidden treasure” while GEOCACHING with my family. GEOCACHING is like high-tech treasure hunting using GPS devices and the internet. Scattered around the world are secret stashes, to find them you log in to the website, locate a GEOCACHE site near you and off you go. The best experience I have had with this was a site in Northwest Maine. We had searched for a long time for the stash there. Everyone was ready to give up, but I refused to quit. My perseverance paid off and I located a small box buried beneath some branches. It was my second attempt and after that I was hooked.

I see teaching as a type of treasure hunt. Each child enters the classroom with abilities, gifts, and experiences waiting to be discovered. Too frequently, we give up and take the easy path. The greatest treasures, however, are not found on the wide simple paths, but in the narrow and risky trails that often take us beyond our comfort zone. Teaching is bringing the best out in each student, and being willing to sweat it out until that treasure is uncovered.

I have been glad every time I have found one of these GEOCHACHE treasures. They are nothing of value or worth to anyone else, but to me each experience is a priceless memory. I hope to find that same value and worth in the treasures that enter my classroom each day.

From Dave Bentley’s Professional Portfolio – September 2013

The Hidden Cache in Main that Hooked Me