Being Connected

It's official, today is the National Day on Writing. So it took THIS to spur me on to write a new blog! This month is also Connected Educator Month. So I thought I would take this opportunity to reflect and WRITE about the importance of being connected.  

I'm going to back up about 4 1/2 months...

At the end of last school year I had the first summer ahead of me in many years that was completely free and clear of any responsibilities. No classes to take, no summer school to teach, no major family obligations, and no house projects!  Honestly, I didn't know what I was going to do. Yes, I could play golf, go on walks, go shopping, or take a trip, but what would I do to challenge myself mentally and educationally?  

Well let me tell you what happened! I was scrolling through my twitter feed and happened upon a tweet from Joe Mazza announcing a change in the way the PT (Parent Teacher) Twitter Chat would be carried out for the upcoming summer. Instead of the typical Twitter chat there would instead be something called PTCamp. The tech tools utilized would include Voxer and Apprenet. The focus for 6 weeks would be a book called Beyond the Bake Sale:  The Essential Guide to Family/School Partnerships by Anne T. Henderson, Karen L. Mapp, Vivian R. Johnson, and Don Davies. Now I know what you're thinking...Shari, you already told us about this in your last blog. You're right, I told you about the book, but what I want to share with you now is how this book study turned in to so much more than a book study.

Yes, I learned a great deal about the importance of family/school partnerships and the integral role this plays in student success. I was able to experience seeing best practices in family/school partnerships through the lens of parents, teachers, specialists, school board members, community learning center directors, administrators, and deputy superintendents. All of this has been incredibly eye-opening and extremely useful as an educator and a future administrator, but the most powerful thing of all for me has been the connections I have made with these unbelievably amazing people. 

If you would have told me when I began this journey last summer that I would strike up friendships and share triumphs, trials and tragedies with a group of people I met through social media I would have said you were silly. Yet that is exactly what happened. I have come to know a group of people who began this same journey at the beginning of last summer. I have followed along with them through their work day with their staff, co-workers, and students, as well as their home life with their family and friends. We have gone on walks together, laughed together, and cried together. I have never met any of them in person, but for many, I feel as if I have known them forever. I have made connections both professionally and personally and have grown tremendously because of them. So I say, "Thank you for these amazing connections and for being beacons of light in my life."