Always appeased by a good metaphor, I found myself giving a lot of "yes, sirs" and "I agrees" when reading the first couple chapters of What Connected Educators do Differently by @ToddWhitaker @JeffreyZoul and @JimmyCasas over the past day or two. These authors were certainly preaching to the choir. Especially as an educator in a rural school, connecting is essential. In many schools in South Dakota, you ARE the English department or you ARE the Science department, so if you are unconnected you will be on an island. Having a Personal/ Professional Learning Network of like-minded educational professionals around the world is the lifeboat to bring efficacy to the ever-changing world of education.
Although I have yet to read Carol Dweck's book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success in its entirety, I found myself referencing this thought process throughout the first chapter and preface of the Connected Educators book. Much of Dweck's argument supports the idea of continual improvement and this book gives us a way by which to find that improvement. In an age of MOOCs, Khan Academy and EdX, there is no reason that we cannot find a way to build our knowledge base and become the best version of ourselves. The thing is... we have to be open enough to realize that we do not have all the answers and it's okay to seek other perspectives.
On page xxiii Whitaker, Zoul, and Casas list the mindset competencies of a connected educator, "Our view is that serving as a connected educator is a mindset more than anything else; a connected educator tents to adopt and live out a mindset that believes: ... improve effectiveness [to] enhance student learning... must collaborate... seek to grow professionally through continuous improvement... live as active participants in ongoing discussions." All of these excerpts make sense and are imperative to creating a classroom that is more reflective of the practices of the "real world" as opposed to our old models of education.
As a school district leader, it will be more important than ever to not only support teachers in being connected educators, but also to facilitate their connections by drafting policies that foster connections if teachers choose to use them. We have to be informed enough to assist in the education of our decision makers (school boards, legislators, DOE) as well as our parents and community members that may wonder why we are changing our current practices. That being said, I do not want to require staff members to "Tweet" or "Instagram" or "Periscope" rather, encourage and pave the way for the ability to connect.
What else can Principals do to promote this type of "Connected Educator" and "Growth Mindset" in our schools among staff and students? Well, just this. Firing up that old blog and trying to connect with others. Continuing to connect via Twitter, participating in EdCamps, and reading professionally. Hopefully, other principals are lucky enough to find another principal to chat about their reading as well. Which is exactly what I am off to do now... because, as much as a Twitter chat can help broaden horizons, the perspective of a professional peer in a face to face conversation is also important as well.
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