If You're Not Giving, You're Not Teaching

Thanksgiving is a great time to think about and celebrate giving. The best teachers are the best givers, but not all teachers believe in giving. In fact some teachers think it is unfair to be expected to share their hard work. 

I was reminded of this recently during a conversation among innovative educators who were discussing how much they enjoy the opportunity to share best practices and materials across schools. They shared stories of going to other schools where they learned from other teachers with an area of expertise that they wanted to get smarter about. They discussed stories of teachers coming to their school to learn from their teachers.They shared all sorts of great things that result from sharing. 

Because our district has developed and identified expert teachers in a number of areas (i.e. Digital Literacy, PBS resources, Google Apps for Ed, etc) the ingredients for this to occur are plentiful. Fortunately, teachers in many schools are reaping the rewards and students are benefiting. 

Unfortunately, at other schools, great ingredients don't always find their way to such favorable outcomes.

This happens when you work in a culture where teachers don’t want to share.

I want more »