You've found my page of materials for a workshop I conduct: Representing One's Educational Philosophies On-Line
 I am a maximizer. That is a personal strength of mine that I am proud to have. It means I do my best work when I'm with fellow professionals who are already good at what they do, and my strength involves inspiring these types of teachers to become even better. I am so lucky that my work with the Northern Nevada Writing Project and the Northwest Regional Professional Program specifically has me create programs that help my fellow teachers maximize their own potential. It's easy to love your job when you know your strengths and are asked to base your work on them.
I am also a teacher leader in my district and state. The best professional development I've ever participated in was hosted by fellow teacher leaders (not by my state department's trainers or by text book company representatives). As a teacher leader, I actively participate--as both a learner and a leader--in regular professional development because the best educators know they still have plenty to learn about teaching. As a teacher leader, I encourage both my most stubborn and willing colleagues to embrace new ideas to try in their classroom.
I believe we need so many more teacher leaders to steer the future of education in the right direction, and when I play the role of maximizer, I know I am helping build a larger pool of these types of educators. Lately, as I continue to play the role of teacher leader, I find myself encouraging the very best teachers I know to develop an on-line presence. I believe the web will become the new place where teacher leaders will be discovered. I believe teachers can grow as leaders by establishing and maintaining a web presence for their professional ideas.
More importantly, I believe that if just the top 20% of teachers began posting ideas and resources for the worldwide community to discover and use, we could do away with all the mediocre text books and the quick fix programs that are thrust upon us by people who haven't stepped foot in a classroom for far too long.
I hope that every way-above-average teacher out there is someday inspired to build a website, to post some of their best lessons and resources, to share their philosophies of why they believe their ideas work in the classroom, and to help others find their on-line ideas. In 2006, I began my own personal/professional website. I am pleased with the regular visitors I have from across the globe. I encourage other teachers to not only follow my lead but to also follow the leads from other educators working to build high-quality websites that represent their classrooms and their beliefs.
On this page, please enjoy some of the resources and links that I share with teachers when I present my philosophy about the Internet to fellow teachers. |
