Embarrased...

Well, after offending everyone, including friends (for which I profoundly apologize for being a complete jerk...NOT my style, by a long shot), yesterday out of my growing frustration, I thought a bunch and went to bed. At 2:00 AM I woke up with a profound epiphany (and a need to go wee because of an aging bladder...)...

I had ignored the very things I have been blogging about thus far...I was milking what I used to tell my athletes was the PLOM syndrome...Poor Little Ole Me...everyone has more information, everyone is more gifted, so everyone should be shouldering MY load. My Leadership Training taught me a pretty effective cure to this in terms of planning...start by taking assertive, direct action, and the best way is by constructing a 'What If' list:

WHAT IF: I assumed a LEADERSHIP role for my school in the push for Educational Technology, instead of waiting for someone to do it for us...I'm part of the TIC-Tech Team, after all...and Kristen can't do everything, bless her heart.

WHAT IF: I tried to learn as much as I can this summer about Blogging and blog sites (with some reasonable summer diversions, of course...gotta have a LITTLE down time), so I feel comfortable passing on what I've learned to other staff at our school, and 'coach' them into developing their own blog sites. Although Darren forwarded his blog to all of us, I'm CONVINCED most have not visited out of sheer intimidation...

WHAT IF: I downloaded Darren's posts specific to teacher's and the importance of blogging, and mass-mailed it to all our staff at the end of August prior to the start of school, as food for discussion at our pre-school prep days.

WHAT IF: I convince Kristen (our TIC) and Becky (my Principal) this fall we should offer in-service training after school once or twice a week (at in-service pay using TIC monies...) to teach these skills...although I don't feel extraordinarily qualified to teach something like this, I would volunteer to do it for nothing...I am paid a little extra as a TIC-Tech, after all.

WHAT IF: I manage to get the one third of excited staff on board with at least SOME of these concepts, and they began their own learning curve that would exponentially mushroom into a school wide (and more...) data base.

Educational Technology Leadership cannot be 'expected' to 'reach out and touch someone'...another leadership axiom I love: Leadership, like teaching is learned by doing the 'job' of it. It's not that we love what teaching DOES for us...rather we love what the doing or work of teaching does for us. "You MUST remember that success in your office will depend largely on your sustained willingness to work hard. Sweat rules over inspiration".
Attilla the Hun