To begin with, let me just say that I have never considered myself to be a "creative" person. Generally, I would rather color inside the lines of a picture that has already been drawn than draw my own picture. Now, having said that, I would make absolutely sure that my coloring job would be meticulously done. I am a hard worker, and I like to think that I am a pretty decent problem-solver. However, "creative" has never been a word I would use to describe myself.
That type of thinking was really prevalent in my career for my first eight or nine years as an educator. I have always loved learning new things. I love to read, and I do it as often as I can. I even enjoy professional development (most of the time). To that end, I have been really good at consuming. I listen and apply with the best of them, but when it comes to adding value to the learning community, my own personal contributions were pretty much non-existent up until just a couple years ago. The sad thing is that I don't think I was alone.
I taught for nine years before I ever presented anything to other educators. I am not afraid of speaking in public. I've done quite a bit of that in my life, but the thought of "teaching teachers" was always intimidating. I think there are a lot of other educators out there that share that same feeling with me. Because of those fears, many teachers just bury their heads and "do their job." They go about their day to day business very professionally. They teach their students the best way they know how, and they work hard at getting better. The thought of leading professional development, however, never crosses their minds.
About three years ago, one of my mentors asked me to do a presentation on literacy strategies for the History department. I needed the experience for some of my masters degree requirements, so I agreed. I was terrified. Although I had been teaching for eight or nine years at the time, I was going to be presenting to teachers with a LOT more experience than me. Some of them had been teaching for more than thirty years. What could I possibly say that they had not heard before? I can actually feel that anxiety returning as I write about it. The mind is a powerful thing.
I made it through that first presentation, and I actually got a few compliments from some of those same experienced teachers that I looked up to. That was a huge relief. As soon as that was over, my mentor started hitting me up about presenting at other professional development opportunities. Again, I needed the experience, so I took advantage of those opportunities. Each of them ended up working out better than I had anticipated. Contrary to what I had feared previously, there was never a time when a teacher stood up and boo'd me or told me that my ideas were not good enough. Imagine that.
As I went through several of these experiences, more opportunities kept appearing. It's funny how that works, huh? At this point, I've presented to brand new teachers, experienced teachers, building administrators, district-level administrators, and superintendents. I can't say that I am the best presenter in education, nor would I ever want to say that. However, the one thing I am sure of is that taking advantage of these opportunities has made me a better educator.
When you step out of your comfort zone and create something, it forces you to get better. You have to organize your own thoughts in a better, more logical way. The level of accountability you experience will rise significantly, and this will, in turn, raise your level of productivity. People will be watching you, and that can be a very good thing.
That's one of the reasons I decided to create this blog. Again, I do not think I am the best writer in the world, but doing this helps me get better. It also allows me to contribute something that someone out there may find some value in. I do feel a little bit vulnerable at times, but I think that's part of the growth process. Being vulnerable is scary, but it's worth it in the end.
My wife asked me a question a while back that really stuck with me.
"When was the last time you did something for the first time?"That's a powerful question.
I look around, and I am inspired by people who are stepping out of their comfort zones and making themselves a little bit vulnerable, risking failure. Most recently, a couple of my friends have stepped out and created new "Twitter chats" in the last few weeks. Check out #PHStrends and #Leadupchat to see what these guys have started (neither of these are connected with each other). These chats are just an example of guys trying to "create" something of value. As a result of their efforts, they are growing as leaders and as educators.
How are you stepping out of your comfort zone? What are you creating? If you're not creating something, what's holding you back?
I want to encourage you to push past the temptation to just "do your job." There is so much more for us out there. We just have to be willing to risk failure and take hold of the opportunities that we are given.
See you next time!
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