First, I put the latest Trump tweets and times in order with a post about leadership, and now I'm responding to that post with some of my own thoughts related to the way I collaborate and lead within my own profession as an educator.
I was so inspired by the hosting conversations workshop I attended last year, and I still want to better understand that and put it to use in my own work as an educator because I believe The Art of Hosting has great potential for collaboration and betterment. In fact, I changed my main Twitter feed heading to one that will inspire my future work in this regard:
I created the header with a combination of images I found as well as a new avatar. I was struck by the great visual demonstrating The Art of Hosting process too which I included on the right as a reminder and below with more clarity:
I will begin to deepen my ability to employ The Art of Hosting by re-reading the materials I obtained at last year's MTA Summer Conference Art of Hosting workshop which was run so well by Rich Wilson, Mike Ritzius, Dan Callahan, and Charmaine Champagne. Then I'll employ the process above with my fifth grade students as we set class norms and protocols. That will be a good testing ground. Then during the year, I'll think about where and how we might invite Dan Callahan in to lead us in The Art of Hosting to work on a significant topic, and I'll also look for ways to forward this work, in part, or in its entirety in other areas where I team, create, and collaborate.
To return to school each year with a number of new promising practices, projects, and ideas is to make the year exciting and positive. Today I'm meeting with my grade-level colleagues and I'm sure they will have a number of good perspectives, ideas, and questions to forward as well. This kind of creativity, collaboration, and progress is what continues to keep me engaged and enthusiastic when it comes to teaching children well.
