Little Miss Geek

I have spent this summer, as I do every summer since becoming an educator, learning. I have expanded my learning by attending conferences, reading, attending edcamps, and having some really thought provoking conversations. Inevitably in every conference or conversation the notion of teachers' plates being full and not wanting to add anything to those plates arises. Original work "Korean BBQ Platter" by Pelican I agree that there is a lot being put on teachers at this time in education. I do not want to make things harder for teachers. I have in the past viewed my role as an instructional coach as helping teachers to balance their plates. I couldn't fix their plates, but I felt like I could help make things easier for them. I know that teachers have done a lot of rearranging and prioritizing of things to try and make their plates work. Frankly, I'm just tired of talking about full plates. I think it's time to do the dishes. Clear them off completely...

I graduated from college with a BA in Psychology and started a Masters in Elementary Education right away. I completed most of my coursework and went through my student teaching. I spent my first summer teaching summer school and applying for every elementary teaching position within a 50 mile radius. I was having no luck in the public schools so in the beginning of August I started calling Catholic schools in the area. One of the schools I called was Saint Walter School. The principal, Mary Lloyd, called me on a Friday afternoon as I was driving in the city to go visit a friend. She asked me if I knew anything about technology, we had a discussion and I went in for an interview a few days later. I was offered a technology and library assistant position, and that's where my career in education truly began. I was in that position for a year, and the following year Mrs. Lloyd created a new position for me as an elementary technology teacher. I was so grateful for Mary taking a chance...

At the beginning of March I attended the +EdTechTeam 's Future Ready Summit at Leyden. It was probably one of the best professional development experiences I have ever had. The energy and excitement was palatable, but it was more than that. Everyone was focused on possibilities. The "could bes" and "should bes" but most importantly how to make those things actually happen. It wasn't a magically fairyland devoid of challenges, but the focus was on advancement and there was problem solving in the air. I left the summit excited about the possibilities, about being in education, and about life in general. I wish I could bottle that up and take a dose everyday. There were times this past year that I could have used a double dose. Heck there were times I would have passed that bottle of positivity and problem solving around.  The truth is that not everyone has that focus. There are certain people that actually take away from that focus and energy. They are th...

For a long time I have felt like I am at the edge of greatness. I try to surround myself with really smart people and big thinkers, hoping to soak up just a little of their awesome. I was around greatness, but just far enough away from the epicenter of greatness to not consider myself great (maybe just good-ish). I haven't really felt like anyone would care what I had to say or care about what I was doing. I currently have no less than 10 draft posts that I have written over the past couple months. Most of them are completely finished just waiting for me to hit the publish button. But something has been holding me back from sending them out for the whole world to see. For a while I had convinced myself that these posts that I had written weren't good enough or would not be well received. I spent today at #EdCampLdr Chicago, again surrounding myself with greatness. Overall it was a good day filled with thought provoking conversations. I started my afternoon in a session call...