Ignoring the Negative

In Maybe We Don’t Want To Tell Our Story from Ideas and Thoughts, Dean Shareski states,

“While it’s easy to say, “Ignore the haters” it’s a challenge for institutions knowing that nearly every post comes at a cost. This is particularly true on social media posts.”

With many people using social media today and many people feeling like they can say anything in a comment, I believe we need to teach our students how to handle different situations that they may encounter.

I remember when I first started my blog and encountered my first negative comment. I felt shocked and hurt but I learned how to deal with it. I learned to ask several questions that helped me deal with this.

• What perspective was the commenter coming from? Were they another teacher, or a student, or a parent?
• Was I unclear about something that I had written? If I had written it differently, would it have helped the reader understand better?
• Does the commenter make a valid point and should I rethink my position?
• Is the commenter just a troll and the comment should be deleted and ignored?

I think asking these questions, would help me understand the comments better. One reason I blog is to share my ideas and feeling. But I also want to be open to other perspectives and hopefully learn from others. Having a conversation with others (through commenting) can broaden my perspective and help me learn new things.

How do you help students deal with negative remarks? Please share.

Photo by Andre Hunter on Unsplash

Uncomfortable conversations

Here is a question from the textbook that I use in my class.

“As a teacher, how would you talk to a student who comes to you with accounts of early sexual experience? What would you ask? What would you say, and how would you say it?”

I was very shocked and concerned by the answers from my students. This question doesn’t say how old the student is or what circumstances the student is in so the answers were quite different. Many wanted to sit down with the student and hear the story, Some wanted to tell the student that it was okay and they would not be judged. Some wanted to talk about birth control.

I want to share my response to all of these teachers:

NEVER have this discussion alone with a student! Always involve a guidance counselor or an administrator, who is specifically trained to deal with situations like this. This could be a situation involving abuse and you are not an investigator! Anytime a legal or medical issue is brought to light, you should always involve your administration. You may have strong feelings about this situation, but you are not trained to judge or give professional advice about any legal or medical issue.

I encourage any adult who finds themself in this situation to not put themselves in a position that could have disastrous results. There could be legal ramifications to dealing with this situation on your own. You don’t know if this is an abusive situation that must be reported or you would be breaking the law. You don’t know what the parents’ position on birth control may be and it is not your place to make this decision. You don’t know if this situation is causing any health issues that should be addressed.

I know as a teacher, you would feel honored that the student would feel comfortable talking to you about this uncomfortable situation. I know you would feel compassionate towards this student but I urge you to make the decision to protect yourself first. It is like flying in an airplane during a crisis. They say if the oxygen masks drop down, put them on yourself before putting one on your child. You are no help to anyone else if you don’t take care of yourself first.

How would you answer this question? Please share. 

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

Online Conversations

Recently our university was put on an extended break. This gives the professors time to put their courses completely online.

In other conversations on Facebook, many students and teachers are concerned about their online courses. Teachers want to make sure that the students get the information they need, and students want to know that the lessons will be meaningful. Someone was concerned that they wouldn’t have meaningful conversations online like they would during a classroom discussion.

I like having students write something and have students respond to two or three others but I think it is important to give directions for the conversations, so they are meaningful.

When I ask students to read or watch something for the lesson, I ask them to write about what they learned. I ask them to tell me if they agree or disagree with what they learned and why.

Then I ask others to comment on at least two or three other posts, I ask them to tell what they agree or disagree with the post and why.

Hopefully, this will lead to a deeper conversation where others may ask someone else a question for clarification or even begin debating.

This involves critical thinking and discussion. I would conduct the same kind of conversation in the classroom so I believe it would work in an online discussion also.

I also like to have a place for students to post a question or something that they didn’t understand. I would then invite everyone to contribute their answer or explanation.  Again, this can open it up for others to jump into the conversation. There are websites like Padlet where people can post their questions anonymously and others can answer anonymously. This may be a good place for those that are shy or afraid to ask questions.

What other strategies would be good to use in order to have meaningful online conversations? Please share.

Photo by Paper Textures on Unsplash

Difficult Conversations

In 7 Tips for Difficult Conversations with Students from @DavidGeurin Blog by David Geurin

“What are some of your strategies for having difficult conversations with students?”

I think the most important thing is to develop a rapport with the students. I need to make sure students know that I’m not going to judge them if they come to me for help. Students need to be able to trust me before they are ever going to be willing to have any difficult conversation with me.

I believe that sometimes our students want to have the difficult conversations with us but don’t know how to start it. Sometimes their behavior makes us want to avoid these conversations and ignore it because it is the easier thing to do. But I didn’t become a teacher because it is the easier thing to do. One of the hardest things to do is to read between the lines. Look for what my student is not saying as much as what the student is saying. I look at body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice as much as the words that are spoken.

Sometimes it is most important that I listen rather than talk. Believe me, this is really hard for me. While I’m listening, sometimes I am formulating what I am going to say and I’m so focused on my own thoughts, that I’m not listening to what is being said. This can be very obvious, and the student will shut down.

I don’t always need to solve the student’s problem. I think it is important after active listening that I ask the student what they want from me. What can I do to help? Their answer may be that I already have by listening. Or they may want me to come up with suggestions to solve the problem. But I don’t offer these suggestions unless they are asked for. If I offer them when they aren’t asked for, I’m unconsciously telling the student that they are not capable or strong enough to solve their own problems. I want them to grow confident enough that they learn problem-solving skills so if I’m solving their problems for them, they will never gain the skills they need for success in life.

How do you have difficult conversations with your students? Please share.

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Listening But Not Hearing

In Unpacking our educators’ belief systems from  Dangerously Irrelevant, dr.scott.mcleod@gmail.com (Scott McLeod) shares,

“…when we’re having conversations or working with educators in professional learning settings, what we say to them may not be what they hear.”

This is true in many conversations I have with others and it makes me realize that I need to encourage further conversation if I am concerned that the other person is not understanding what I’m saying.

Many times, I complain that my husband doesn’t listen to me but this makes me realize that he is probably listening but not really hearing what I’m saying. I’ve learned when we talk that I need to be clear about my wants and expectations and not expect him to be a mind reader. I need to do the same with my students. I shouldn’t assume that they understand what I’m asking or explaining.

A good way to do that in my classroom is to ask my students if they agree and why or why not. Asking them to explain their answer shows me if they are really understanding me. It is easy to say yes or no or give a thumbs up and thumbs down, but do they really know or just guessing? Are they just giving me an answer they think I want to hear?

I think understanding also depends on the perspective that another person has. Sometimes during the conversation, they show me how my words can be perceived in a different way that I never had thought of.

I tend to be egocentric when I talk, and I need to be more aware of the different perspectives that others may have. In order to do this, I need to ask questions and encourage conversation.

I also need to teach my students to do the same thing. Many students get frustrated with adults because they feel that they are not being heard. Maybe they are right. Maybe adults are listening but not really hearing them. Rather than getting frustrated and mad, we teach them a better way of being heard. Encourage them to work harder at deeper conversations.

By doing this, I am helping them have more successful personal and professional relationships.

What tips would you give students to help them be heard? Please share.

Photo by Jason Rosewell on Unsplash

Good Manners

Last week we went to Disney World and was at Epcot in line for a ride called The Sum of All Thrills. This is one of my favorite rides because you design the ride yourself and then get to experience it.

While we were in line, there were a couple of young girls behind us. The youngest girl accidentally bumped my husband with her Mickey Mouse ears and apologized profusely. She was so charming. Her older sister was quieter but equally nice. We struck up a conversation and they were so polite and delightful. I didn’t see their parents anywhere are around so I knew their behavior was not because their parents were watching.

After we left, I thought about their behavior and how proud their parents would be. You can just tell that their parents have trained them right and instilled values in them.

When my children were young I always wondered how they acted when we weren’t around. I can only hope that they were as well behaved as these two young ladies.

I realized also that I forgot to mention how much I enjoyed our conversation to the young girls and I need to do that the next time we have an encounter like this. I believe that young people need reinforcement when they do things that are nice and polite. I don’t mean that I have to be gushing and embarrassing but I think it would be appropriate to let them know that I enjoyed talking to them. This will encourage more appropriate interactions with others.

Do you have chance conversations with young people you don’t know? How did it go? Please share. 

Connections

In I can’t save everyone… from Blogush by Paul Bogush shares,

“I printed off of all of my class rosters and placed a check next to each kid that I “talked to” today.  Go ahead try it.  If you do nothing else today, print off a class list and place a check next to each kid that you talked to today.  Not just a question and answer back and forth, but a few sentences either in or outside of class.  I wonder what that data would show over time.  I bet that the kids who aren’t doing so well would be the same kids missing checks next to their names on more than one occasion.”

I think Paul hit the target on this one. Many times students need that personal connection before they trust someone enough to believe what they say. Learning involves a lot of trust. If a student doesn’t trust a teacher, I don’t believe they will be able to learn and retain that learning for future use. They don’t want me to talk AT them but they want me to talk WITH them. I try to find out something interesting about each student and each day I try to ask them about their interests or comment about something I saw or read about their interest. I like for them to explain more about things they are interested in and sometimes I learn a lot from them. The more I talk and connect with the students, the more I feel connected and invested in their success. It feels as if I try harder and so do my students.

I also think this applies to our colleagues. Too many times I hear teachers complain about their workplace. They complain about the administration and they complain about teachers they need to collaborate with. Maybe if they took time to connect with these people, it might make a difference. I try to learn about their interests and when I see them, I try to ask a question or make a comment about their interests. This takes time and energy to remember things like this. At first, I make a list (yes, I love my lists) of people and beside it I write about their interests. If I know I will meet with someone the next day, I look up their interests and may even look for a news story about their interest or think of a question that I could ask them about it. The more I do this, the less I need my list. Before long we are connecting on a more personal level which helps when we disagree on something. It also makes it more comfortable to share new ideas or make suggestions.

It would be interesting to see data on how this would make a difference in the workplace atmosphere. It would be fun to see how people would rate their workplace comparing those colleagues who connect and those who stay isolated from each other.

I think these connections are important to being successful in the classroom and in life.

Do you connect with your students? Do you connect with colleagues? If so, what are some things that you do? Please share.

Image: 'Pitaya (light green)'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/94805433@N00/45406386

Making Our Voices Heard

In the need to blog from Blogging on the Bay, bgaskins says,

“I think in these times of Waiting for SuperMan and Oprah, we can’t stop our voices. We cannot be silent. We keep our focus on learning. We keep our focus on the student. We don’t budge.

In education the reformers have always been the silent ones who kept moving forward.

Our professional learning communities keep us moving forward. We support each other. We listen.”

I think this is absolutely right! I need to keep speaking up whether it is blogging or writing letters or speaking publicly. As a taxpayer and voter, I need to make my voice heard. Whether I agree with those in power or not, I have a right to voice my opinion.

I have learned that there are people out there that want to hear what I say. They also may not agree with what I say but it can get the conversation going. I may be able to change someone else’s mind or they may be able to change mine. But I do know that if we don’t start somewhere, nothing will change.

I have learned by talking to legislators that not many share their opinions like they should. I hear many people in the teaching field complain but when I ask them if they write letters, make phone calls, or share their opinions with the legislators, they always come up with excuses why they don’t or can’t.

I think I need to do more than just support others. I think I need to encourage others to make our voices heard. Just listening to each other isn’t enough. In order to make changes we need to push each other to take that extra step.

When I hear another teacher complain, I will do more than just ask if she has written letters or called someone. If necessary, I will help her do so. I will get her contact information and get her the address of her legislator. If I need to, I will help her draft a letter to voice her concerns.

Just encouraging each other and supporting each other is great but it isn’t enough. I need to do more. By doing more, I’m showing by example how others can do more. And if we all do more, than maybe we can make our voices be heard even more.

How do you make your voice heard? How do you help others make their voices heard? Please share!

Posted on the Successful Teaching Blog by loonyhiker (successfulteaching at gmail dot com).

Image: 'lauter protest'
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The Art of Conversation

In What’s the first thing you say to me? from The Home of Peter Shankman - Shankman.com, Peter Shankman says,

“What’s the first thing you say to someone when you’re introduced? How do you say hi and not bore them? How do you do it without becoming a douche? Without making it all about you you you?

Have something to say! What’s your ten second intro? This isn’t a pitch. It’s not a life story, and it’s not a business plan. It’s a ten second intro. It gives me just enough information to want to follow up. You want to leave me wanting more. It’s our first date.”

I have to admit that when I meet someone new, I get all tongue tied. It could be someone famous or someone I read about on the internet or just someone that someone else knows. I start to think about how stupid I probably sound and that I have nothing interesting to say and I feel paralyzed with fear. So, if you ever meet me, please take pity on me and excuse my awkwardness because I really want to talk to you and sound somewhat intelligent and normal.

This whole topic reminds me of the neurological class next to my classroom. The students (most of them were labeled autistic) in the class had obviously been working on the art of conversation. Now, you ask, “How do I know this?” So, I will try to recapture my interaction with one of the students early in the morning before classes began.

Me: Good Morning S.

S.: Good morning Mrs. H.

(I begin to open my door with the key.)

S.: Now it’s your turn.

Me: Excuse me?

S.: Now it is your turn. You said something and then I said something. Now it is your turn.

Me: Oh. Well. How are you today?

S.: Good. How are you?

Me: I’m doing great.

(I turn back to my door…)

S.: It’s your turn again.

Me.: Ummm. Okay…

S.: I asked a question and then you answered. Now you have to ask a question back again. That is what they call a conversation.

Me: Oh. Did you have a good evening last night?

S.: No, it was boring. Did you?

Me: Yes I did. But I really have to end the conversation now because I need to get in my classroom and get ready for the day. Okay?

S. : Okay.

Later I told his teacher about this and she said that they had been working on the Art of Conversation so obviously he remembered a lot. She was pretty excited about this because he seemed to generalize the skills they practiced in class.

I still get nervous when I meet people who know me through other people we know in common. I guess I have gone up to this attorney way too many times and reminded him that he knows me through his former secretary who is a good friend of mine. I usually get flustered and say, “Hi Brad! I’m Pat and I don’t know if you remember me but I’m a friend of Sandy’s.” The other day I met him in a parking lot and started to say my usual phrase, when he interrupted me, smiled and said, “Hi Pat. Yes, I know you are a friend of Sandy’s. How are you?” I have been saying the same thing for the past 10 years every time I saw him!

I think we need to prepare our students for these kinds of situations too. I can’t tell you how many times I cringe when I see former students who come up to me in the store and say, “Hi Mrs. H! Do you remember me?” and then continue talking without ever mentioning their name. I have taught in the public school for 30 years and then on the college level. These classes have been in 2 different counties and four different schools. I also have attended many community activities over these years. So, I don’t know where I know you or when but I usually can recognize your face. Please remind me who you are so that I don’t rack my brains trying to figure it out! Then not only tell me who you are but remind me how I know you.

Now if you are going up to someone new, try to find out something that you have in common. Talk about the place you are at or something you know that they are involved in. Ask questions of the other person and while they are talking, it will help you calm down so that maybe you can feel more normal instead of awkward.

Now, if I can only remember this when I am in that situation! Do you have tricks that you could suggest to help the art of conversation? Please share!

Posted on the Successful Teaching Blog by loonyhiker (successfulteaching at gmail dot com).

Original image: 'elephant talk'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/47968145@N00/325235488 by: Gina

Sometimes Conversations Just Happen

In Not the answers I am looking for from Learn Me Good by Mister Teacher, he talks about the wild answers he gets for some questions asked. If you get a chance to read his whole post, it will make you smile.

His whole post reminded me of conversations in my own classroom and how my students would go off on a tangent and totally miss the point of what I was trying to make. Here are some examples.

I taught the novel Scarlet Letter using illustrated classics and my students loved these books. We read it as a play with different students playing different parts. When it was their character’s turn to speak, they would read their part. Here is part of the conversation as I remember it:

Me: Does anyone know what the letter A stood for? (Please do not use any profanity. It did not stand for THAT.)

T: Angry – ‘cause I sure would be angry if I had to wear a letter.

S: But the football team wears letters on their jackets for the school name – so was A the name of the school they went to?

K: No, A stands for adultery and it means she fooled around

E: My momma fooled around and my daddy beat her up! Then he went to jail!

T: My daddy was in jail too but he did drugs

S: I wouldn’t let no guy beat me up, I’d beat him up first

K: My momma left my daddy ‘cause he fooled around

E: My mommy never visited my daddy in jail

T: I heard the food was bad in jail

Well, I guess you get the picture…

Another time I wanted to talk about the careers that my students could have if they studied hard.  I wanted them to see that they had many options open to them if they just work towards a goal. For example, they can be a landscaper, a sales clerk, a receptionist, a cook, or even a filing clerk in an office.  Here is how the conversation ended up.

S: I want to work in a doctor’s office

T: You just want to know who got a disease!

E: My daddy got a disease and he had to have shots because he had a lot of girlfriends.

K: If you have a disease, I don’t want you cooking for me!

S: I like the pretty uniforms they wear!

T: But then you gotta wash it. Maybe you should work in a laudromat!

K: Can you get diseases if you work there.

T: You don’t even know how to wash clothes!

Which then brought me to the realization that I had a whole different set of problems besides careers to deal with. I needed to do more functional living skills with them in order for them to take a more serious look at their future.

Whenever I had a class discussion, I never knew what twists and turns it would take but sometimes it was a lot of fun. Sometimes I let these conversations just flow around me because they always made me smile. Sometimes the statements were sad and the students just had to let the ugliness out of them in order to leave room for some goodness. I didn’t do this often but sometimes it just had to happen. Sometimes we had to have these discussions in order for the learning discussions to be successful.

Posted on the Successful Teaching Blog by loonyhiker (successfulteaching at gmail dot com).

Original image: 'Age of Conversation Book'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/78601704@N00/2366474122 by: Gaurav Mishra

What Did They Say?

In Imagining Conversations with Former Students from The Clever Sheep by Rodd Lucier, he asks,

“When you cross paths with your present students 10 years hence, how do you anticipate the conversation will begin?”

I thought of the many conversations that I’ve had with former students and I think about the things they have already said to me and I feel proud of these things. Some of these things that were said surprised me because I don’t remember them or it wasn’t as an important interaction for me as it was for them. Here are some examples:

Many of them start off with telling me, “I am a Born Winner!” That has been my class motto for over 25 years and each student had to write that on every paper before they turned it in or I wouldn’t grade it. I think my students have heard too many negative things about themselves and need to turn their own thoughts into a positive one. Usually there is a power of wills at the beginning of the year about writing this on their papers but I’m steadfast in my will and always win. It fills my heart to know they still remember it.

Another favorite is “Remember the zoo!” This was as traumatic for me as it was for them (and David, if you are reading this, it still is but now I’m smiling!) It was the one and only time I thought I lost three high school special education students at the zoo. I tromped through the zoo looking for them practically hysterical. Since I had to go find them, I had to leave my brain injured girl with my heavy pot smoker who promised to take care of her and I prayed that they didn’t disappear next. When I found the three walking calmly down the walkway, I lit into them like a crazy woman! Here are three boys towering over me, looking sheepish and let me scream at them like one of the wild animals! Now, normally, any other student would have gone off the deep end and yelled back or walked away but these tough guys hung their heads and took what I gave them. I look back on this and think wow; they really loved and respected me. Later on, a policeman who was there with his small daughter in a stroller told me that the boys were excellently behaved and really didn’t deserve my berating which made me feel 2 inches tall. I think they took it because they realized how scared I was and how much I cared for them (at least I hope so). That is really the only time in my career that I really lost it. I still remember it as if it happened yesterday.

Another student reminded me that I always made them correct their mistakes. It drove them crazy but now they can see why I did that. I still don’t understand how some teachers give the students a grade without helping them learn what they did wrong before moving on. I’m told that teachers don’t have time to do this with the students because of all the standards they have to teach in order to prepare for the tests but I don’t see how they can afford not to but that’s another story.

Here is one that I don’t remember. A girl came up to me in a restaurant with her family including her parents, husband, and small children. She told me that every Thanksgiving they talk about me and are thankful for me because I taught this girl a lesson about respect in ninth grade. When she was disrespectful to me one morning, I didn’t write an office referral on her. Instead, I called her parents. This surprised her because I didn’t even know her, yet she felt I showed her that she was important to me by taking the time to call home. I didn’t know that at the time, she was having a lot of problems, and this little action really helped to turn her around because she thought no one cared about her and felt invisible. I really hadn’t ever seen her since that incident and here she was all grown up and looking great. It humbled me to know that they still talk about me after all these years and give thanks for my small entry into their lives. It really woke me up to the little things we do as teachers that we don’t realize may have a bigger impact on these students that we may never know.

I love having conversations with former students to see what stands out in my career. Now is the time for those teaching to think about how you want to be remembered. What do you hope that these students will say to you? How will you know that you’ve been successful when you look back and talk to these students?

Original image: 'Old School House (Lublin, Wisconsin)'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/34748725@N00/3288238069

Contributing Makes Me Feel Amazing

I love to get on Plurk and Twitter connecting with my personal learning network (PLN). I am always amazed at the things I learn from people around the world. The more I interact with others, the more I realize how much many our challenges are similar. I had heard that the Georgia Educational Technology Conference was going on and wished that I could be there because I love tech conferences. Over the years I think we have moved past learning about the specific tools as much as learning how to apply the tools in specific situations.

Someone asked me if I would be willing to Skype in so they could show the audience how Skype works. First of all, I was thrilled to be asked to contribute something to a conference that I wish I had attended. Second of all, I was thrilled to be a part of something bigger. The more that people learn about using the tools, hopefully, the more people will actually apply it in their classrooms. It seemed like many of the people in the audience were thrilled to see how easy Skype worked and how clear the sound and picture was.

Just being able to contribute something made me feel special. At first it is a scary thing to do because of course I had to get out of my pajamas and fix my hair! Then it is the thought about how dorky I sound or look in front of all those people! But once I got past those scary feelings, I felt amazing. Without people who contribute to things like this, it would be really hard to show others how things work. It is the contributions that people make which make the interactive part of networking worthwhile.

I’m been holding our Council for Exceptional Children Chapter 877 meetings on Flashmeeting. I love the platform and the ease that we have holding these meetings. The problem is getting people to attend the meetings. By being there online, whether they use a microphone, web cam, or just text, they are contributing. They are adding their ideas and thoughts. Maybe people don’t realize how important their contributions are and think that just watching the recording is all that they need. Contributions are what make this a much richer experience.

I love blogging about my teaching experiences, beliefs, and ideas but it is a one woman show. I am usually throwing out ideas and hoping there is someone in the great beyond who is listening to me. Yet, when I get comments, I am thrilled. I’m not sure that people realize how much their comments mean to me. By commenting, I feel like they are making the discussion a much richer environment. Instead of being a one woman show, it becomes a conversation and conversations are important.

I started to join wikis so that I can add information. I also joined Nings so that I can be part of the community. Not only was I contributing to other people’s pages but people were contributing to mine too! The wealth of information that is out there when we all join in the conversation is astonishing! This is a way to corral everyone’s strengths towards a specific purpose. No wonder these people seem to be so successful in their professional lives.

I have noticed that some people are doing presentations on building a personal learning network and I think I will jump on the bandwagon. By being a part of a personal learning network, I think teacher’s professional lives will be so much richer. I’m hoping to create a presentation so that I can offer this to teachers in my area in order to help them because they can tailor their network to their needs and interests. It doesn’t matter what grade level or subject they teach because it is the interactions that are important to being successful in the classroom.

Do you contribute to others so that you have an interactive network? If not, take the first step. Offer a comment on a blog, or join Skype, Plurk and Twitter. But don’t just lurk (not saying anything). Join in the conversation because I promise you, once you start, you will be amazed like I was!

Original image: The hands that help are holier than the lips that pray... by addicted Eyes

Contributing to the Conversation

In Never question your power… from Blogush, Paul Bogush writes,
“… I want to leave you with the words Linda Nitsche wrote to me today–” We all have amazing things to share and ideas to move change forward. Never question your power!“ Please take a leap of faith today and join one conversation, make one comment, write one tweet or plurk one response to someone. Never question your power to make a contribution.”

I always am so inspired when I read this blog and when I saw the title of this post, it jumped out at me. In fact I thought about it all day before I sat down to write this myself.

When I started connecting with others about a year ago, I felt very intimidated and basically scared to death. I started out reading other people’s blogs because I decided I wanted to blog but wanted to see other examples. I loved what I was reading and was inspired from reading other posts. Yet, I was too scared to leave a comment because I thought that no one would care what I had to say and I was afraid that everyone else obviously knew so much more than I did. Then I joined Twitter and people were actually asking me questions. Now if that doesn’t make you want to run and hide, nothing will. Suddenly I was no longer anonymous and others could “see” me. Of course, my husband says that I could talk to a brick wall, so I bit the bullet and jumped into the conversation.

From there I started to check out live webcasts and adding to the online chat. I really enjoyed real time conversation with others and started to learn more and more. When I didn’t understand something, there was someone right there ready to help me. I also loved the rich conversations that took place and I was thrilled to be a part of it.

The more I interacted with others, the more comfortable I began to feel in my own skin. I started to actually understand myself better because these conversations made me reflect about my own philosophies and teaching practices.

When I started getting people responding to what I was saying, I was astounded. Suddenly people were interested in what I had to say and willing to discuss issues. I didn’t mind if people disagreed with what I was saying because sometimes it made me rethink about what I had talked about. At times, it changed the way that I thought and other times, it helped me clarify what I stated. Suddenly I’m exchanging ideas and strategies with other teachers. My classroom techniques were so much more enhanced by this exchange.

For the first time I found the power of my thoughts and words. This was a wonderful feeling and I truly recommend it to anyone. I believe that this helped me be more successful in the classroom. If you haven’t tried any of the things above, please consider taking a step in that direction. Please join the conversation, whether it is with colleague in your school, in your district, in your state, or around the world. One step will eventually lead to another and then you will never know where you end up. What an adventure!

Original image: 'making their points . L1059717.jpg' http://www.flickr.com/photos/19251296@N00/2255468498 by: Susan