Has that ever happened to you? Have you ever been so engaged, so completely engrossed in learning that hours go by and you are left thinking, “Did I go to the bathroom today?” One of my favorite educators and author of Teach Like a Pirate, Dave Burgess, would describe this as a class that you could sell tickets for!
No matter how you describe it, I can finally say that it happened to me today! Today, I had THE BEST DAY EVER at THE Hilliard University. Hilliard City Schools took full advantage of our waiver day today by creating a course catalog of over 100 offerings for staff. Courses ranged from staff wellness to literacy best practice to blended learning and everything in between. We filled one of our high schools AND one of our middle schools as certified and classified staff personalized their own learning. As I participated in sessions today I found myself totally engaged and present in the moment. Was it because I had nothing else to do? NO! Was it because I was hearing a presentation from an expensive speaker? NO! Was it because I had an assignment to do or a report to write about my learning? NO! I was completely engaged, simply because I was given the choice to learn about things that were important to me. I was able to learn from my colleagues and I was encouraged to share my thinking and my new understandings with others. There were countless reasons why I loved today, but here are my top six: The energy-Words cannot describe the energy at The Hilliard University today! The choice-We were given the freedom to reserve a room for collaborative meetings with whoever we wanted! The schedule-I decided what I wanted to learn! I set my own schedule. The people-Seeing colleagues that I don’t get to see every day! The hallway conversations-“What session did you go to?” “What did you learn?” “Oh, that sounds great, I’m going to that later!” “This is the best day!” (I can’t tell you how many times I heard that last statement today.) And of course-the food trucks!
I’ve participated in a lot of PD. I have paid to attend most of it. Today’s PD was free-but I would have bought a ticket for it!
Want to get a feel for what went on in Hilliard City Schools today? Check out the Storify of our tweets!
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AuthorI hope my blog posts inspire risk taking and new ways of thinking. I hope to connect with other educators on our journey to always do what's best for children. Archives
November 2017
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