It’s Connected Educator month. I woke up today thinking about the value in being connected. I can’t even explain it. Being connected has gotten me a front row seat to a space shuttle launch, to the White House in the same room at President Obama, and even to Space Camp. And most recently? Flying in the Zero G airplane. I know – it sounds made up. It also sounds like bragging, which makes me cringe a bit in my head– but I’m sharing for one reason…To convince people to get connected. Because that’s what all of this is about. If I wasn’t connected, not only would I never have known about those opportunities, I would have never had the courage to apply for them. The courage I get from people that have been there for me, near and far. The people. It’s always about the people.
And I can’t even describe what these experiences meant to my students. Because every single one of them? I shared with them, too. They knew about them all. Especially the ZeroG flight, they were there when I didn’t make it in the first time, and when I tried again and made it. My kids were there when NASA called.
That’s when the kids said I was “lucky” and one said, “Mrs. V’s not lucky, she works really hard for these opportunities.” That’s when a kid stops you in your tracks. They get me. I get them. We get each other. We are all learners, moving forward, on this journey together.
So I blog. I share. I tweet. I connect. I’ve even shared openly about the journey to understand Autism. I share what inspires me and what breaks my heart. I would stop anything to share with someone else. I would give up my lunch break, give up my Saturday morning, give up my early bed time, if I thought I could help another educator. Whether they are next door in my school, or on the other side of the world. That’s what I do. Not because I am better than anyone else, but because connecting is what learning is.
It’s what I expect from my students. What I’ve always hoped for in my colleagues. And what I believe in. There have been times I was targeted because of my sharing. Times when I was told I shared too much or times when others misunderstood the reasons I share. There will be people who don’t understand, people who tell you that you are connecting “to promote yourself.” People who try to tear you down because they think your connections make you outshine them. People who don’t understand that connecting is not even about shining at all. It’s about creating a flame. Together.
I hope you are reading this and thinking, “Maybe I should start a blog…” or “Maybe I should Tweet more…” but I bet some of you are reading this and thinking, “I have nothing to share.” You are wrong. You are a teacher. You are a dreamer. You are a person who has everything to share. Your experience. Your goals. Your thoughts. Because when those get mixed and shared on the internet in a global forum, we all become better. You. Me. Us. Them. Together.
For our kids. For our future. For each other. Better together.
What are you waiting for? In fact, I will help you. The first five people to leave a comment on this post, I will create a blog banner and help you in any way I an get set up with Blogger or WordPress this October, in honor of Connected Educator month. Because I believe in what you have to share, and you should too.