Professional Development…And the Teachers All Groan

A little background information for the non-educator:  In the educational world, sometimes the word "Professional Development," is a curse word.  It's just that sometimes, we are tired of being "professionally developed" and all we want to do is mark things off the NEVER ending to do list rather than adding things.

So the past two days I took off school and went to professional development…but there was NO GROANING!  I loved

every second of it!  The keynote, the debates, the sessions, lunch, collaborating with colleagues, and Pinkitzel with friends. (Mariah, Brandy, Rachel, & Lisa)  I guess I can't say every second of it, I didn't love driving in traffic or paying $10 to park!  But really those are only #firstworldproblems and probably shouldn't be mentioned.

I attended the #OTAEM14 conference downtown with several other Putnam City friends and I left feeling inspired to change the world - Fine…burst my bubble, not the WORLD, but at least some lives at my school!

The keynote speaker, George Couros, did an excellent job of engaging the audience of librarians and technology enthusiasts by showing us pictures of how we as educators must excite and inspire students.  He shared a story of a boy who had a very bad stammer.  Because one teacher believed in him and had the idea of using technology as a resource, the student was able to stand up in front of his class and give a speech. (Take a moment, watch the video, and join the audience of sniffles...just make sure you come back and finish the blog!)



The sniffles in the audience (on the video, at the conference, and now you) speak loud and clear, educators were inspired, I was inspired.  Come on, admit it, you were a tiny bit inspired too!  This was only one of the many pictures and videos +George Couros shared in his presentation.  George challenged his listeners to "do something that inspires kids so much so they do something to inspire us.  You see, if we get caught up in this fascinating ferris wheel of inspiring kids, kids inspiring teachers, teachers will inspire more kids, and more kids will inspire more teachers…I can see the momentum building now, can't you?

As I moved from session to session, I began making a list of things I want to do at Northridge to help inspire kids.  Obviously, I dream of doing things with technology and reaching kids through gaming, coding, film making, and blogging.  My head is exploding (so much so, my stomach literally exploded this morning) with big picture ideas and I can't wait to get started.

Once I capture all the details swimming in my head, I'll share them on the blog.  Today, I just want to leave you with a few thoughts:
What is education if students are unmotivated to learn?  How will we really reach them, if we can't relate to them? What will put a smile on their face when their world at home is crumbling?  They want to be listened to…they want to be heard…by us… by an audience outside of us!  What are YOU going to do at your school, to inspire kids, to "HEAR" kids?  What resources do you have at your disposal that meets kids where they are and gives them something exciting to look forward to instead of the humdrum of the kill-drill race to the test crap?

I'm starting tomorrow (couldn't start today with the exploding stomach) by talking to my principal about a couple ideas.  I guess its good to get approval when you want to go out on a limb to be creative and innovative.  Kim McLaughlin, I hope you are ready!