TL;DR:

• Veteran educators are our best resource for advice, inspiration, and long-term purpose.
• Stepping into the classroom of a teacher who is our opposite is an opportunity to rethink our own best practices.
• Global networking can provide solutions we can’t see inside the comfort of our own communities.

When I think about the teachers who have made the greatest impression on my life, the lessons I took with me had nothing to do with content. I remember Mrs. Deputy, the kindergarten teacher who gave up her lunch to help me practice tying my shoes. And Mr. Whitehead, the 6th-grade social studies teacher who set high expectations (five research papers in one year) and never let us believe we were too young for the tough assignments. Then there was my poetry professor at the University of Illinois who created a space where we could share our most personal thoughts in verse. Countless teachers throughout the years inspired empathy, perseverance, and trust in my thoughts.

Growing up, we were inspired as students by great teachers, but now we have the honor to work next to great educators every day. Imagine how we can lean into the best qualities of our colleagues.

The problems we face as educators may look the same, but the solutions we use do not. Let's learn from the innovations of neighboring districts, states, and countries afar. - J. Waldvogel Click To Tweet

Three Ways We Can Learn From One Another

Lean In to Adult Story Time

All teachers have stories. Funny, heartwarming, shocking, and tragic. As educators, we live each day as characters inside the stories of children and these experiences resonate with our own joys, frustrations, and laughter.

But the ones with the best stories are the veterans. The educators who have served for decades: through cycles of initiatives, building renovations, policy shifts, and many principals. Find them. Ask about their first years of teaching. Ask about the craziest parent experience, student mishap, or the moment they considered leaving education for good.

Veteran educators have the best stories, and in those stories are the pieces of wisdom that transcend decades. There’s a reason educators have stayed in the profession. Find that reason and hang onto it during the tough times. These stories can help us interpret when we’re living a life of purpose and when it’s time to move on.

Opposites Attract

Every educator has a style. Some are warm & sweet, some hilarious, some tough & reliable, and some incredibly chill. Regardless of our style, we have a mode of operation and whether we’re working with students or colleagues, that vibe shines through. We are, for the most part, consistent.

But in order to really grow, we need to entertain the methods of our opposites. Love to lecture? Visit a classroom that spends every day in Project-Based Learning. Teach advanced coursework? Tap into a classroom working on the fundamentals. Tend to plan on the fly? Talk with a colleague who plans far ahead. In observing a different path, we challenge ourselves to think about instruction in a new way, adding to our toolboxes.

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Go Global with Networking

Education talk in the 2020s is all about the PLN, and a large reason we’re hearing a push for expanding our educator network is based on patterns. Workplace communities fall into patterns, just as families do. We each play a role and once that role is established, it can be hard to shake things up. What you see is what I see and suddenly we’re narrowing our perspective instead of broadening our ideas.

Thankfully, technology has made networking so easy. When we read a book or hear a speech from an educator who inspires us, we can find and follow that person’s regular commentary. Attending a conference? Talk with educators from new places, then connect and follow their stories. Find a job-specific listserv? Join it. I have learned so much from Illinois Digital Educators Alliance, Learning Technology Center of Illinois, TeachBetter, and the Instructure community.

The problems we face as educators may look the same, but the solutions we use do not. Let’s learn from the innovations of our neighboring districts. Let’s learn from the approaches of states and countries afar. We are at our best when we connect. Who knows? The problem we were hoping to solve may already have an answer: all we have to do is look & listen.

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About Jennifer Waldvogel

Jennifer Waldvogel fell in love with teaching because she’s an optimist at heart and believes the possibilities inside classrooms are endless. She currently serves as a Teacher on Special Assignment for Technology Integration in Yorkville District 115, working alongside students, teachers, school & district leaders to guide blended programming, design professional development, and coach personalized instruction.

Jen is a National Board Certified teacher who spent over a decade teaching writing and literature to high schoolers. After a transformative blended learning pilot, she shifted into the role of TOSA to support student success at a global level in Yorkville’s Teaching & Learning Department. Ever curious, Jen enjoys PD- if she had the time and money, she’d be in school forever- engaging in conferences and workshops, where she has presented at the local, state, and national level about learning pathways, personalized PD, mindfulness, blended learning, student motivation, and ways to maximize your LMS. She is honored to have been awarded the 2019 Illinois Computing Educator of the Year.

Jen holds a Bachelor’s from the University of Illinois (Psychology), Secondary Ed from North Central College (Language Arts), and Master’s from Northern Illinois University (School Counseling). Publications include Midwest Poetry Review, The Storyteller Magazine, Educational Leadership (2019), and Ideas to Connect Your Classroom (2020). Jen is also a published novelist, Untouchable (2016), who blogs at jenniferwaldvogel.com.

Jen is a proud wife and mom, enjoying hiking, travel, and foodie adventures with her family. She loves Walt Whitman, Key West, and music you can dance to. Writing is her favorite hobby.

Connect with Jennifer on Instagram, LinkedIn, or her website.