Tribes and Teaching
I highly recommend Seth Godin's new book Tribes. It is a paradigm shift from the traditional thoughts on leadership. My question is how do we as teachers implement and develop our "tribe" as we move through the school year.
Leadership is not management. We try to manage our class and our students, but in doing this we are not effectively leading our students. Our administration may be impressed with the lack of students we send to the office, but are we training our students to think. If we are not being criticized then maybe we aren't taking the chances that we should.
The best way to grow used to involve reliability and consistency, while the enemy was change. While these values are important, change is coming, and we can either lead or be left behind. The Internet is a resource we must learn to use and embrace as we develop ourselves and our students.
We are really talking about a mindset. The status quo is not good enough. Taking initiative is fulfilling and rewarding. We can react or respond, but to be happy and achieve results, we must be proactive and take initiative. We need to be willing to take a chance. We will face blame and criticism, and that is the true fear that we face.
So amidst my rambles and thoughts, my question is this:
How do we as teachers develop our tribe and the tribe mentality with ourselves, our students, and our administration?
...But you have to start to be great -- John Maxwell. This is one of my favorite quotes, and is on the bulletin board in my classroom. As I undertake this new project, there are many unknowns, but in the words of Zig Ziglar, "Anything worth doing is worth doing WRONG, until you learn how to do it RIGHT."
This is a project that has been in the works for the past 3 years. Right now there are many individuals considering teaching as a profession, and a worth profession it is. There are challenges and rewards, and there are many things that I never learned in all of my formal education.
My goal in putting this together is to help people at different places:
(1) If you are considering a career in education --what to expect, challenges and rewards, and common misconceptions.
(2) If you are a new teacher about to begin your first teaching job -- what they never taught us in our education programs.
(3) If you are a current teacher how to move from survival to stability, and eventually from stability to significance -- finding balance and staying power as a teacher.
If you fall into one of these three groups, this is the place for you! I will do my best to provide insight and wisdom from my time in the classroom.
The summer time is a great opportunity for teachers to recharge their batteries and find balance in their lives. It is also a great time for new teachers to prepare for the upcoming year.
Welcome Aboard!