Defining Ways Educators Can Tug Education Back in the Right Direction

I stumbled across this awesome blog post the other day and really enjoyed reading it. I found myself nodding, reflecting on things I do and don't do, and decided I needed to share it with you.

Take time to listen & learn every week 

Learn from intriguing people. Your energy and excitement is often in direct relation to the ideas you’re bringing into your life. Teachers learn best from other teachers and educators from other educators.

Teachers must be a living model of lifelong learning. To do this, we have to carve out time to learn. Administrators and others should leave behind the misconception that a teacher should always be working. Sometimes they should be learning if they’re going to be a great teacher. The best teachers are great learners.

Share your learning & inspire others

Educators who care, share. Take time to share your favorite books, internet radio, and resources to help inspire those around you.

First, share with your colleagues. Your peers don’t need a consultant — THEY NEED YOU. If you’re excited – you should be sharing.

Make copies of inspirational best practices and put them in the teacher’s lounge boxes.  Share something new you’ve learned every day with someone. Include people who don’t connect via social media. [Love this idea, I have colleagues not on social media and this is a brilliant way to share, sometimes I forget about how it was done pre-internet]

Second and perhaps most importantly, at least once a week share something you’ve learned with students. In my classroom these conversations will start like this:

• “I’ve been reading the book __ on __. I find ___ fascinating.’ or
• “When I learned ___ it blew me away (I’ll show the article on the board if it is online). What do you think?

Then, encourage them to bring things in they’ve learned too. “Show and tell” should become “care enough to share.”

Let’s be the lead learners in a society needing to see living examples of lifelong learning.

When you get the spotlight, grab a mirror

Some love the spotlight. But remember that hundreds of thousands of incredible educators are doing a great job every single day without encouragement or thank you. Most of us would agree that introverted genius teachers are under-recognized.  So, we can spotlight more teachers in two ways: grab a mirror or make more light.

Grab a Mirror

To be inclusive, when you gain a spotlight by winning an award or being given the chance to speak– grab a mirror. Shine some  light on those who inspire and help you. Point out teachers who deserve it. Mention your favorite teacher when you’re receiving recognition. Don’t teachers deserve some credit?

There are more ideas on the list at the original blog. Read the entire post here!

Another busy week of filling my teacher brain...

I spent a couple days in Williams Lake to present the New Teachers' SURT (School Union Rep Training) workshop to a group of new teachers' and TTOCs from Cariboo Chilcotin teachers.

It was awesome to talk about Professional Development, the History of the BCTF, Professional Relationships including the code of ethics and boundaries, Professional Autonomy, and the Collective Agreement. I found it so educational as the facilitator to learn some of the local language and how it differs from other locals I have presented in or my own local I work in.

Thank-you to the teachers' in Williams Lake as well as the BCTF and the CCTA for having me!

When I returned from Williams Lake I had a mentoring session with our district mentor team, where we went through some strategies and protocols to try with our own "mentees" or "prtoege" groups. I find these sessions so valuable as a mentor and hope to bring some of the strategies we practiced into our next TTOC Mentorship meeting.

Finally, on Friday, I joined the BCCLA PSA (BC Co-Operative Learning Provincial Specialist Association) at their annual conference. I am part of the new District Leadership Series and was excited to get a sampling of what we will be focusing on this year. We also had our CTA 1st VP, Chris King, as a keynote. Although I work with him often, it was incredible to listen to him speak on Safe Schools and SEL (Social Emotional Learning) and how important it is to have those connections and a safe environment so that students CAN learn.

Overall, this week was busy, but so educational! My brain felt so full at the end of each day, I am so glad I have my notebook to reflect in and return to, so that all these fabulous revelations do not get forgotten!

EdCamp - What?

Have you heard of EdCamp?

Our local Professional Development Committee was talking about it recently and it caught my interest as something very organic and useful.

If I understand correctly, professionals get together, ready to share, and through a process that can vary by group, they naturally form groups that break-out to share and enjoy professional development and collaboration.

http://edcamp.org/  writes:

We’ve all been there: A mind-numbing, passive, professional development session that aims to “fill up” your mind with knowledge and expertise. Quite often, these types of experiences leave you drowsy and uninspired.
Well, there’s a new form of professional development sweeping the nation that aims to change all that. Edcamps are unconferences for educators where learners share their experiences and their professional expertise in a collaborative, interactive learning environment. Edcamps are based on Open Space Technology (OST) which states that “whoever comes are the right people and whatever happens are the only things that could have” (Boule, 2011).

EdCamp: Do It Yourself PD: It can be face-to-face — school, district, even region-wide — and always free. Most of all, EdCamp is do-it-yourself PD, planned by volunteers and led by attendees.  




An authentic Edcamp has the following features:

• free: Edcamps should be free to all attendees. This helps ensure that all different types of teachers and educational stakeholders can attend.
• non-commercial and with a vendor free presence: Edcamps should be about learning, not selling. Educators should feel free to express their ideas without being swayed or influenced by sales pitches for educational books or technology.
• hosted by any organization or anyone: Anyone can host an Edcamp. School districts, educational stakeholders, and teams of teachers have hosted Edcamps. YOU could be the next Edcamp organizer!
• made up of sessions that are determined on the day of the event: Edcamps do not have scheduled presentations. During the morning of the event, the schedule is created in conjunction with everyone there. I know it sounds crazy, but it works! Sessions end up being spontaneous, interactive, and responsive to participants’ needs.
• events where anyone who attends can be a presenter: Anyone who attends an Edcamp is able to be a presenter. All teachers and educational stakeholders are viewed as professionals worthy of sharing their expertise in a collaborative setting.
• reliant on the law of two feet that encourages participants to find a session that meets their needs: As anyone can host a session, it is critical that participants can actively self-select the best content and sessions. Edcampers are encouraged to leave sessions that do not meet their needs. This provides a uniquely effective way of “weeding out” sessions that are not based on appropriate research or not delivered in an engaging format.

Edcamp.org continues to write:

Edcamps were founded when a group of teachers, including me, were inspired by a local Barcamp unconference on computer programming. Since the first Edcamp was held in Philadelphia in May 2010, over 50 Edcamps have been held by teachers in the United States, Chile, and Sweeden. (Interested in holding your own Edcamp? Visit the Edcamp wiki at http://edcamp.wikispaces.com)

Teachers and educational stakeholders are using this format to start meaningful conversations about their work. Social media, including blogs, Twitter, and Facebook, have served to continue the conversation in online spaces as well. Professional reflection, application, and evaluation abound.

Lately, Edcamps have received some criticism due to the interactive, unpredictable format. How can you guarantee that every Edcamp session is based on the latest research? Quite simply, you can’t. Edcamps should be used as one meaningful item on the professional development menu. There will always be a place for traditional professional development to ensure that faculties are using the latest research and effectively employing the most fundamental strategies purported by the educational organization. However, using the Edcamp format to honor teachers’ expertise and provide interactive learning opportunities is a worthy process.

Edcamps strive to provide space for teachers to learn from each other. They give everyone a voice and a forum to explore new ideas and strategies.