I woke up this morning, made my coffee, and began my journey out to my front porch swing. As I sat there, I began my morning routine. It starts with a stroll through Twitter. Many minutes are spent reflecting on the plan for the day. A check list starts to form in my head of things to do and people to talk to. During this time I reflect on conversations, things I've recently read, Twitter chats, and so on. Today I am reflecting on relationships. The power of being connected. My mind naturally goes to this place because a new school year is just around the bend.
I'm a connected educator. I can call myself that because I make a point to connect with other educators. That is what being a connected educator means...right?
Yes and no.
Connecting with other educators is crucial to our growth and our abilities to maintain best practices for our students. However, this morning I am reflecting on the question...
What do connected educators do?
Where do I begin? I mean there is the obvious answer to this question. They reach out to their fellow educators and build relationships through building level, district level, and global level initiatives. Making an effort to collaborate through face-to-face conversations and when that isn't possible they incorporate technology, creating online opportunities to connect.
Connected educators seek out opportunities to encourage, share, and contribute to the progression of our educational system, striving each day to make it better than it was the day before. We search for innovative ways to engage our students and their families, inviting them to be an integral part of their learning.
Being a connected educator does not stop with our fellow educators. It requires us to move past there and reach out to our students and their families. We can't forget that the most important thing we can do as educators is to build a trusting relationship with our students, their families, and the community.
Before learning can EVER take place we must establish two very important things:
RESPECT & RAPPORT
Respect breeds respect. I connect with my students before I ever meet them. I read their files, learn their interests, and prepare to engage them on a personal level. When we finally meet, I spend time getting to know them. I use morning meetings to establish a time where we take turns sharing and listening to each other. I want them to feel respected and to learn that I care about them and the things they want to share with me. We build a rapport during this time that establishes a connection through our shared interests. That connection grows throughout the year and because of that connection they trust me when it comes time to take risks in their learning.
Connections with our students' families are imperative to the success of our students. We need to be a team. We need our families to collaborate with us and trust us. They need to feel that we value their input. When we build genuine connections with families they feel it, and they are willing to invest in making a plan for their child.
School is no longer an isolated island. It is a place of community, family, trust, student & family empowerment, and love. We are connected because we have the same goal. We want to see our students succeed, not just in their academics, but in life!
Connected educators don't limit their connections, they expand them! They reach out to every resource within their grasp and when it's not in their grasp they build a bridge. We do this because we know, we see, and we feel the impact it makes on our students, their families, and our communities.
We are the difference makers, fearlessly leading our children into a better future. When we connect they do too. What connections are you making?
~Liz
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