"If you only do what you know you can do - you never do very much." - Tom Krause
As I sit on my couch on this Sunday evening, laptop open and tv on, I am inspired. The Olympics are on my television right now... diving, track and field, beach volleyball, gymnastics, and more. What makes these athletes so amazing? They are talented, but even more than that, they have spent years - sometimes entire lifetimes - pushing themselves beyond their known limits. They never "only do what they know they can do". They push themselves to the next level, achieve greatness, and then push themselves some more.
As an educator and a member of an educational administration team, I need to live my life that way. I cannot "only do what I know I can do". That limits me and also limits my ability to inspire others including my teaching staff and my students. I would never expect my students to only do what they already know how to do. The entire concept of education is to learn something new and move to a different level- so why wouldn't I want that for myself?
But, how can I move forward? What is the next step? One specific tactic (and a way I encourage my teachers) is to connect with other educators. Some have been down the education road more than the rest of us and have great wisdom. Other tackle problems differently and we can benefit from their problem solving skills. Connected Educator Month (#ce12) has allowed me to follow various educators and educational leaders on twitter. What have I received from this connectedness so far? I have about 50 blog posts and articles saved in my Pocket account which I will begin to tackle reading this evening. These will expose me to new ways to get things done, teach more effectively, or at the very least get me thinking about education. I value my Personal Learning Network and hope to grow in a way that will inspire others to move beyond what they already know to achieve greatness.
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