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.