Once again, George has given us all something to think about. This is one of those topics that I struggle with as I go from classroom to classroom in our school. I see wonderful examples of innovative practices nearly every day (not as many the last two weeks due to state testing) and I try my best to share them with our staff. Right now I am covering a class (proctoring one of our state tests) so that one teacher can watch another teacher teach. I have spoken to the staff about the great things I see, either in our short staff meetings or in my weekly "nuts and bolts", and teachers are now more willing to watch their colleagues teach as well as inviting their colleagues in to see them teach. It might not be "mass sharing", but it is an important step to get to this point.
As educators, we often don't do a good job of sharing what we do well. We need to do a much better job of this. If you have a lesson, activity, or unit that has gone well, share it with your colleagues. You might think it's bragging, but it's actually sharing good teaching practices. Aren't we all in the business of educating students? It shouldn't be a competition. It should be a cooperative atmosphere where we learn from one another.
One thing that I have done to promote mass sharing is my weekly "nuts and bolts". Here is my most recent example. There isn't a lot in this example of what I saw in classes last week, but I do have links to twitter posts, blog posts, and quotes that hopefully touch some of the educators I work with. I need to find other ways to promote mass sharing and look forward to reading some of your suggestions and ideas.
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