What I Don't Know...

I love to spend time my niece who is twelve and my nephew who is eight.  We have the greatest give and take conversations, meaning they know so many thing that I don’t know.  When I say “what is that or how does that work?", they get a real kick out of showing me what they know.  It is no secret that kids today are much more familiar with technology than we are, just give them a device and let them show you.  +Reflecting on one of our conversations, it dawned on me that I have to be comfortable with what I know and just as comfortable with what I don’t know.   The great part about what I don’t know, is that I too can grab my device and search the world for answers. After all learning is power!

This year in my district we are working on our practice in the classroom through instructional rounds.  Too often great teachers move into administration and become managers of people instead of leaders of learners. So how can I as an administrator continue to grow in what I practice?  My choice is Twitter. I use this source because I always have a device in my possession and I get to choose who I follow for information.  I agree that engaging in the Twitter-verse is an acquired skill, but none the less worth the learning curve. I have to continue to grow my skills and acquire information using what our kids are so familiar with, social media. 

I am reminded of a professor I had in my graduate work that would say a million times to us…”tell me what you know, not what you think!”  Here is what I know, leaders of learners have to commit the time to learn, apply what they’ve learned in a setting that others can learn from them, and they must seek information about what they don’t know.   

Remember the old adage of lead, follow, or get out of the way – what I know is that your staff will get information from someone – make that someone you.  Be a leader, spend your time researching practices that other schools are using to accelerate success on their campus.  Do your research, interact with others on social media, through #edchats, or through other blogging sources.  It is amazing what I can learn in ten minutes on twitter or reading another educators blog.  Know what you don’t know, and commit the time and energy to learn it.  

Here are some of my favorite Twitter sites:

#leadfromwithin
@EducatorsRoom
@SBEducation
@NEAToday
@TED_Ed
@EdTechTeacher21