How Online Communities of Practice Shape Our Work
In education reform, technology increasingly allows us to work across classrooms, schools, districts, states, and often even international borders. Online dialogues via email are a way of life for most of us and we routinely connect through webinars, Google Plus, Discussion Forums, Twitter, Facebook, and many other platforms. Online communities of practice and collaboration sites allow ongoing working relationships that span time zones and geographical borders to promote continuous knowledge sharing. Many of you may have been part of a community of practice in the past or are currently a member of one or more of these types of communities – whether completely online, in-person, or a mixture of both. If you are not familiar with online communities of practice, visit the U.S. Department of Education School Turnaround site to see how they work. Continue reading “How Online Communities of Practice Shape Our Work”
Everybody can be great, because anybody can serve.
The recently sworn-in 113th Congress has the most diverse membership in the history of our country’s government. As 82 new House members and 14 new senators assume their Congressional responsibilities, we will notice new firsts in the gender, racial, and ethnic composition of Congress. For the first time, the majority of House Democrats are made up of women, blacks, Hispanics and other ethnic minorities – almost 60 percent of the Democratic caucus. 
In 2012 we observed each of the national cultural heritage months recognized by Presidential proclamation. In doing so, we wanted the actions of the observation to be sincere and to be part of our professional development at West Wind. We decided that for each cultural heritage month we would have a brown bag lunch during which we would explore each culture with a discussion including such things as: identity and naming of the groups in the culture being observed; counter-stories to the stereotypes of the culture; and what are some of the issues children and families face in the educational system. These brown bags have been a great source of learning, debate, and growth for us. 
Most of us have an idea of what the terms college and career ready mean – the skills, knowledge, and abilities necessary for a student to enter the workforce or postsecondary education. And no doubt most of us have encountered several variations on college and career readiness and how we achieve it for all students. Yet if we step back for a moment and consider these terms, the very order of the words seems to promote college readiness above career readiness. Now, I realize that words must come in some order and perhaps it just sounds better. Thinking too much about it could get us into a useless chicken or egg loop, but just humor me for a moment. When I looked at word order and thought about what we value most, my gut reaction was that career trumps college because college is the preparation for the career. But, the perennial student in me, kept saying, “College is not about a career. It is about learning and growing.” In fact college is about all of these – learning, growing as a person, and developing the skills to succeed in a chosen career. 
Learning how to speak powerfully about critical educational issues is an essential skill for educators and advocates for students. RESULTS 
I love to sail. I love being out on the water, feeling the power of the wind, watching the sails fill with air and propel the boat across the waves, and being a member of a crew. When sailing with a crew, I am always impressed by the way the sailors work together. Each person knows what they are supposed to do and takes care of their own role, whether it is taking the helm, hoisting the mainsail, bringing across the traveler, trimming the sails to the wind, or hiking out to balance the boat’s weight. 
As I drove into work this morning, I realized that in a foreseeable amount of time (one month from now), a long-term goal that has been one of the biggest challenges I ever set out to achieve will culminate: I will defend my dissertation and have earned my PhD. Though it’s easy to pat myself on the back for realizing a long-held dream, I think it’s important to acknowledge that I didn’t get here alone.