What would you sacrifice?

Last year, my school put in for a grant to receive a Chinese Teacher for one year. This teacher would be fully immersed in the school and the community. Many people helped in the grant process.  We had a board member who would be the community liaison and our Japanese Teacher would be the mentor teacher. I helped obtain the grant by creating an introduction video about our school. We were lucky enough to be selected.

At the beginning of the school year, Mrs. Wei Wei came to here from China. She was selected out of 700 applicants. I was interested to see her teach Chinese (I took an intro class in college) and her interaction with the students. In the first few weeks, I went and talked with her about life in China. She informed me that she was married and had a 7 year old daughter. I was taken back to see an educator who left her family for one year to have this opportunity. I wanted to get to know her better so I invited her to meet my family. It was a great evening.

In December, her family came to America to visit. This is not allowed in the exchange program and she was almost sent back to China. What a stressful situation for her and her family. She was not only able to be allowed to stay in America, but to help open up the conversation to allow for families to visit once during program.

Over the school year, she took time to visit many classes and learn about the American Education system. She came every week to my "Tech Tuesday" class. Her biggest concern was whether the tools we discussed would be accessible in China. She took the students on many field trips and created many exciting experiences.

She continually wrote about her experiences and told me the #1 thing she learned was that we have to keep learning and growing to get better.

I'm so inspired by this truly amazing educator. She came to America to be a better educator for her students and her school. Her methodology changed over the course of the year. She learned best practices and new strategies. She was an amazing choice for an exchange program. She's been a pioneer at Roton because now we have a Chinese language program. She sacrificed so much to be better and to grow. Inspiration comes in many shapes and sizes, her journey inspired me.  What would you sacrifice to be better for your school, students and country?

For more information on the grant visit http://tclprogram.org/ 

How did this happen?

I became a connected educator 2 years ago and it has transformed my life. Being connected to the most amazing educators around the world I am continually inspired to take risks in the classroom and out. I have realized I have a voice and it matters. As educators, we are truly better together. In 2015, working in silos has to be exception and collaboration the rule.

The Bammy Awards honor and acknowledge the extraordinary work being done across the educational community. This week is Teacher Appreciation week and the Bammy's are a great way to tell someone they are truly appreciated. I have taken the time to vote and celebrate the great things happening in education. If we don't celebrate each other, who will? Take time to visit http://bammyawards.com/ and vote or nominate amazing educators who inspire you. 

This month, I was nominated for a Bammy Award in the Middle School Teacher Category. How did this happen? Sure, I am a passionate teacher who loves what he does; but never did I think I would be nominated for any type of Award. This nomination is so humbling. Feel free to cast a vote here--> Robert Pennington It is so inspiring to read about educators around the world doing amazing things. I reflect and wonder where would I be if I never became connected? What would I be doing? 

Do we really value Student Voice?

I was lucky enough to support a student who really wanted to place a Maker Space in our learning common. He worked diligently for weeks to put in a proposal and ultimately be accepted into a Shark Tank type sales pitch to fund proposals. On Tuesday, I went to support my student and see what other students proposed. There were 14 presentations ranging from elementary school through high school. I left being blown away. They were showing their passions and working to change the world. Elementary students proposed an upgraded robot for their Lego-Robotic Team, Middle School girls wanted supplies to transform the messy girls locker room, High school students wanted to help fund a summer soccer camp for younger students, wanted test dummies to train students in CPR and a group of students wanted funding to open a school store. All students who presented were passionate and looking to change their school/community. I left impressed, proud and excited for my student who wanted to make a difference today. He wanted to leave a legacy for others to enjoy.

On the other side of the coin, I heard information that students next year aren't going to be allowed to choose their enrichment classes. Over the course of three years, each student will be allowed to try all of the enrichment classes but will have no choice in the matter. 

We also have a student council, who really has no voice in any of the decision making processes of the school. Do sometimes we have programs, just to have them? Do we really value student voice?  I have seen some amazing programs nationwide where students are part of interview committees, procedural committees and raising money for special causes. We have to connect with all stakeholders and that includes our students. The Quaglia Institute of Student Aspirations states that by the time students are in 12th grade only 34% believe that they have a voice in decision making about their education. This drops significantly from later elementary/early middle school. As teachers, we can start to empower our students if even by asking for feedback about a lesson or a unit. 

In the end, my student was selected to receive half of his original proposal to start his Makerspace in the learning common. He said "I think it's great that students will have the opportunity to build and create." Student's can make a difference today, all they need is the opportunity. Are we giving our students the opportunity? 

                    

Value the Moments

Recently, my 58 year old neighbor passed away. He was a great guy who could decorate for the holiday's like no other. Halloween was always great. He turned his front yard into a graveyard and would even become part of the scene to scare some and excite others. His passion for Halloween and his family will stick with me forever. At the same time, he was someone who would take time to teach. I asked about his graveyard and he showed me how he used installation and spray paint to make his unique tombstones. He was a great parent. He would do anything for his children and even volunteered at the fire station to spend time with his son. Tony, you will be missed by everyone who knew you.

At his wake, a former student approached me to see how I was doing.  He is currently in his second year of college. We had a conversation about his middle school years. It was a humbling experience as he told my wife I was his favorite teacher. He talked about specific lessons, our field trips and how he was lucky to have such a great experience.  I left the conversation reflecting on his words. Was it the lessons? The trips? The conversations? What made him feel he had such an amazing experience? It's all of the above. As teachers it's so important for us to bring passion to the classroom. As @burgessdave says "Provide students with an uncommon experience and they will surprise you with uncommon effort." This is only part it. It's also about relationships. We have to take time to get to know our students. We can't expect our students to give 100% for people they don't think care about them. Teaching is a profession where we don't always get to see or hear the impact we have. Don't take for granted, especially all those special moments in the classroom and at home. You never know when they could end.

EdcampSWCT- The Building Blocks

Becoming a connected educator has connected me to the most amazing educators across the world. Last summer, I went to #edcampldr in Philadelphia. It was the first time I met Sharon Plante and Amy Traggianese, two amazing educators from Connecticut. We were connected via Twitter but I never met them face to face even though we live roughly 20 minutes away. After having dinner and a great day of learning, we discussed bringing an Edcamp to Southwestern Connecticut. We eventually heard of another group who also wanted to put together an event, so we combined forces (Jimmy Sapia, Sean Hutchinson, Joel Pardalis and Frank Rodriguez). It was great to connect via +Voxer and finally meet this passionate group of educators this weekend. Fast forward 7 months: we just held @EdcampSWCT in Norwalk, CT.

The last week was very stressful for me.  I am a teacher and a tech coach in Norwalk and was honored to be able to host the inaugural event in my hometown. We had 3 different winter storms and the feeling that the event was going to be poorly attended crossed my mind. It was even more stressful because I invited many colleagues who weren't connected and were skeptical. Also, the building we had the event was not at the school I teach. I wasn't sleeping and was going through the what ifs.... I was out of my comfort zone, but I hear that's when the magic happens.

We were setting up and people were arriving. I ended up staying at the front table to greet teachers as they arrived. When I finally made my way downstairs, I was stunned!! We had roughly 120 educators from administrators, teachers, pre-service teachers and students. I went to check the board and it was almost filled! We did an introduction and found that many had never been to an Edcamp before, so we went over the rules and the board.

We had many great sessions with students even presenting. Talk about student voice! During the first session, I walked around, watched discussions and people connecting and collaborating. I visited some teachers who were having a roundtable discussion about movement and the outdoors in education. I know many think Edcamps are tech camps but I think they are relationship camps and inspirational camps. I led a session on Google Classroom. We had novices, experts and students. It was a great discussion that left some ready to push their school and district to become a Google District and unleash the power of Google Apps.

What did my colleagues think? Well, many finally got connected- which was a huge win! Here is what they said: " It was good, I want to go to another, "  "I've been in a hole doing my own thing, it's nice to know I am not alone," "It was very uplifting," "I learned so much," " I want to bring this type of PD to my school in the fall," " I connected with some new people" and my favorite #Iamhavingfun (from someone who still has a flip phone). When I arrived in school today, I didn't bring it up but a teacher sought me out about attending another Edcamp and another e-mailed me a new website she created www.edtechsimplified.com . I am excited they took a chance and were willing to power-up their professional learning.

It is an idea, a mindset that together we are better for the children we serve. In the end, I am grateful to have worked closely with Sharon and Amy. They are a huge inspiration to me and I have learned a lot from them. That is key: Be a learner and instill that in others you meet. As I said during a discussion, "Anyone can be a leader, you don't need a title to inspire." If we were able to put on an Edcamp using the tech tools +Voxer and GHOs anyone can do it. All it takes is one block to take the first step...Keep Building.

Taking risks and moving beyond 140 characters

Every week, I try to participate in a discussion on twitter with other social studies educators called #sstlap. This is always such a great discussion with amazing educators. I have gained many resources and ideas.  This group has pushed my thinking way beyond the silo at my school.

During a discussion last week, I took a risk and reached out to +Benjamin Brazeau @braz74. I wanted to discuss a way to amp up the professional learning by having a Google Hangout (he wanted to do one in the summer).  We discussed bringing in special guests to take the learning beyond 140 characters and letting teachers elaborate on great lessons. We immediately thought of having +Matthew Barry @mrbarry628 and +Chuck Taft @chufttaft  join in on the discussion.  They are social studies gurus and true pirates. We ended up bringing in a couple of other teachers @stlinok + @spotsjaws into the discussion.   We had a uncanny amount of educators who wanted to partake and share ideas.

My first reaction was a little disappointing as I wanted to have more teacher voice in the hangout. As I reflected; I realized we took a risk.  We did something different and now have a recipe for success. The discussion was lively and productive. The main group of 4 kept the discussion moving and shared great ideas. As we move forward with other live events, we can bring in more teachers and more ideas.   In the end, the kids are the true beneficiaries.  I truly believe "together we are better." If you have any ideas, please don't hesitate to share your ideas to help make the live events even better.

How can this be used in a classroom? Connecting with classes, debating issues, collaborating on projects and connecting with experts. The possibilities are endless.

A special thanks to @braz74 for running with the idea.