My Inaugural Revolutionary Moment

By Anonymous -
There is absolutely nothing revolutionary about me starting a blog. In fact, this is not the first blog I have ever had. I had one in college, and one when my husband and I started our family. No, the creation of the blog itself is not revolutionary. The potential it has is. 

 Yesterday, I sat through my school district's Inaugural Learning Together Conference. It was the first of its kind because we had over 120 presenters, most of whom are teachers in our district. For the first time, the C&I department allowed our own to teach what they had learned about best practice. Also for the first time, the C&I department allowed the staff to choose what sessions we attended. Over the two day conference, we were able to choose where we spent 6 of those 12 hours. That was revolutionary for us. 

 A quick back story on me, I am a bit of a narcissist. Not because I had a privileged life and have a misplaced sense of entitlement. No, quite the opposite. Through the help of key people in my life, and a innate sense of grit and intrinsic motivation I was able to overcome what most people would consider an "at risk" childhood. I have accomplished more than most people in my family. I have avoided the life changing mistakes that define most people in my family. You can imagine the ego boost I got out of getting to present for two hours each of those conference days (with the help of an amazing teammate). Then I went to a colleague's @schoolsoftmrw presentation on Teaching Their Heart, and I went to our keynote address by @TechNinjaTodd about Inspiring Children to Learn. I realized there are people out there far greater than myself. I realized while I may not be where they are, at the age they are, I can learn from their trailblazing and I can strive to become what they are. Its possible. That was revolutionary for me. 

 In the last 36 hours, I have:

  • Joined Twitter
  • Started a Blog


in order to:

  • Connect with people who can make me better
  • Create a Professional Learning Network (PLN)
  • Manage my brand
Next steps? 
  • look into all the other forms of social media: instagram, tumblr, linkdin, etc.
  • write my first "why not" talk, inspired by Mo O'Brien
  • revisit my homework policy
  • research project based learning to guide my next science unit
  • find new apps/websites for my kids to learn during Math Workshop
Ultimately, my goal is this- try something new. fail. tweak. try again. repeat. 

I want to change the world. First, I have to find the giants who will lift me upon their shoulders, so I may see the path they've laid.


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