The Teacher Down The Hall

 Last week I shared out how powerful observing colleagues can be for practicing educators. This week, I want to keep that theme going for just a bit longer, but with a twist! 

This past week I had the honor of presenting to the high school students who participate in the Tomorrow's Teachers program in my state. I was at my home base (Kean University) to present my work on family engagement. I was pleased to see that the students and their supervisor were happy with what I shared, and we had some time for hands-on work to get these future educators thinking about their future students, classrooms, and families. Of course, I also learned something! 

It actually struck me a few days after when I saw a quote on social media: "Sometimes the greatest PD is the teacher down the hall"- Brian Aspinall from We are Teachers/ Education to the Core. As I mentioned in my blog last week, educators learn a lot from each other. The disheartening part is that we are not always provided the time to go observe our peers. Whenever we can find the time to see them, it's one of the most valuable things we can do. My take-away from the conference was that as a seasoned teacher, one of the best things I can do for others is to give them a small window into my classroom. In other words, I can "pay it forward" to all the aspiring teachers out there, and share with them the wisdom I learned from others and through my own teaching experiences. Taking methodology courses and studying a subject are not only obvious, but necessary components of a teacher preparation program. What is missing though, are those real-world experiences and moments (until student teaching) that these future educators can't see because they are not in the classroom. 

Having the willingness to be vulnerable and share what I've learned has taught me how much these pre-service teachers appreciate the "real" professional development. They want to know what real teachers do in real situations, and how they handle things in their classroom. By sharing what I know, I also get to hear myself problem solve and think "What can I do better next time, or differently?" It all comes back full circle. 

Today I encourage all of my seasoned teachers out there to not only reflect on what I shared last week about observing each other, but also consider sharing your wisdom with the future educators that are out there. They are appreciative and hungry for our knowledge. It's also (in my opinion,) a time to naturally reflect on our best practices, and learn from them. These moments are the real professional development that we need to focus on more. It's how we can and will continue to grow as teachers and leaders. 

Final thoughts: Keep finding moments to see what your colleagues are doing in their classrooms. Keep reflecting on your own practices to continue to learn from them. Keep saying "yes" to opportunities to share your wisdom with future educators, and finally, keep learning from what you share to keep the real professional development alive and well.