What is Your Role in the Edusphere?

What is your educational role?

Where is your professional passion taking you, and why?

In this age of multiple paths, this is an important consideration--one to frequently revisit.

My work and paths keep leading back to my original reason for teaching, the children.  Despite temptation to move outward and away from the classroom, in the end that's where I want to be.

Why?

Though the work is demanding and the respect and support often lacking, I enjoy the synergy of many fresh and facile minds working together for a common cause: positive learning.  I am also invested in the mission of public schools which is to give every child a chance at a good education and positive life choices. Further, I find teaching to be a tremendous challenge, and I love a good challenge. Finally I understand children, and enjoy helping children learn.

I don't like everything about teaching. For example, I wish we had more support. Most often it is one teacher and many children, hence a needed break or set of extra hands is often a wish unmet. The days are long and the adult connections are few. The environment can be tough with no air conditioning, outdated furniture, overused facilities, and little storage supplies. Also some of the tasks are difficult such as moving large pieces of furniture, cleaning a room up in a day to make room for summer camp, and recognizing that serving children well means that there is little job growth or change since most teaching jobs are structured the same on the first day of the job until your very last day (I think there's room for positive change in this area).

But no job is perfect, and as it stands now I will focus on teaching.

Yet, I like to write too, and I like to create.  Hence, as a second focus, I'll continue to write and create content and policy to best affect learning for my students as well as teachers and students throughout the world.  With the multiple tools available today, there is tremendous room for greater creativity and positive transformation in education. We don't have to just accept the parts of the job that are cumbersome and problematic, aspects of teaching that hinder the good work that is possible. We also don't have to accept old routines, tools, and strategies that are less effective or even harmful to children.  At this juncture in the road, the possibility and promise for education is great, and we must seize that opportunity with voice, creativity, and share.

Hence, as I continue down the road of teaching, I'll keep my focus centered on the children I teach first.  Then I'll focus on creativity and voice that move my individual work and our collective efforts forward to strengthen, transform, and promote positive learning communities for every child and teacher.

That's my role in the edusphere?  What is your role?