Who could’ve guessed how motivating ONE blog post could be? When I started this journey I had no idea what to expect. You certainly wonder if you have anything important enough to say that others will read it. And those dang stat pages make it hard not to obsess over it.
I was proud of my first and second blog posts. People were sharing it, retweeting and I even got a comment from someone I follow on Twitter. But nothing prepared me for the response I received on my last post. I truly was sitting on my couch and just put together a message I thought would be important for our parents this school year. You can read that letter here.
Like anyone else, I had someone read it before I posted. I’m not a great editor and my grammar stinks sometimes. Hitting that “publish” button can be nerve wracking. I mean, I’m not anyone special. Just a small town principal who’s trying to do what is best for our teachers and students, but also wanting to grow myself and model what we want our teachers and students to do. Taking risks is hard.
What if no one reads it?
What is someone misinterprets what I say?
What if I offend someone?
What if it’s a complete failure?
Yes. Those are all questions that went through my mind. Not just once. Not twice. Many, many times. I don’t even know what made me take the leap and just do it, but I did. It’s only been a week and here I am writing my 4th post.
It hit me this morning though. As a district we have done so much to shift instruction to effectively incorporate technology and the 4 C’s. We’ve done trainings for Project Based Learning and become Apple Teachers or certified in Google. We’ve taken so many steps toward creating classrooms that engage students and foster creativity and collaboration, but are we fostering risk taking?
Maybe it was silly, but I sat with my kids the other night watching the stats on my latest blog post and we’d get so excited as we approached a new goal. My daughter saw my excitement as people from all over the world read my message and even reached out to ask permission to use the letter. I got caught up and even felt like a celebrity. I can be a bit dramatic though and wasn’t exactly looking for the red carpet…yet. And let’s be real. 3,000 people in 27 countries is really not that many, but what a boost it was to keep going.
How do we provide this boost for our students? How do you provide opportunities for them to take pride in something they are passionate about and share it with the world? All I can say is that the feeling I had was one of pride and our students should have that opportunity because we have the tools to make it happen.
Maybe that is the last blog post I publish to reach that kind of audience, but isn’t once enough? When will you take that risk in the classroom that you’ve wanted to do for so long, but just haven’t? Make this the year. Make this the year that you do that not just for yourself, but for the 25 students in your classroom. Show them what it means to get excited and take pride in something you are passionate about. Not only do they deserve it, but it’s critical to their future.
I have had at least 3 people tell me that my blog has inspired them to write their own. While 3 out of 3,000 is minimal mathematically, it’s actually huge if it means I’ve given someone the confidence they need to take that risk. Our students have the power to do that for each other. We just have to let them. Let them and then let them share their stories with the world!
Mrs. Shannon Myers 