Hats at #NPC17

As principals, we all wear a variety of hats.  But I'm not going to talk about the different hats we wear.  I'm going to talk about two hats I got from vendors at NPC17, hats I wasn't looking for but hats that found me.  And my wife will tell you I certainly don't need anymore hats, but I couldn't resist them.  The reason I couldn't resist them is messages they have for me and for anyone attending a conference or participating in any kind of learning experience.

Participate

This is in no way meant to be an advertisement for www.participate.com/chats, a website I use to find educational Twitter chats.  It is meant to be a call to action.  Learning is an active process.  We learn by discussing, questioning, listening, moving around, answering, and sharing our thoughts.  Participating is not limited to scheduled sessions, either.  It includes the times you make up your own sessions with those you have connected with, eating a meal with new and old friends, going for a run with others (check out my previous post), hanging out in the airport or hotel lobby, and just about any other way you can connect with someone.  I challenge you to connect and not just hang out alone.  Your learning will be much deeper and meaningful if you can speak with another learner.

Ripple Effect

When I saw this hat in the exhibit hall, I couldn't believe that it existed.  The hat was at the Overcoming Obstacles (https://www.overcomingobstacles.org/) table and made me pause and speak with the nice people who were there.  I feel that we all have a ripple effect in our schools.  We all create ripples.  We drop a rock in the pool and the ripples go out from there.  Good "rocks" create good ripples.  Bad "rocks" create bad ripples.  And it's not just the principal that creates the ripples.  Students, staff, and families all create ripples.  During NPC17, the ripples were everywhere.  #momsasprincipals led to #dadsasprincipals.  Speakers like Jimmy Casas and Todd Nesloney and Kevin Carroll spread ripples about relationships and believing in our kids, among other things.  I need to be aware of the rocks I drop in my school, with family and friends, and with those I meet while I'm out and about.  The ripples will have a lasting effect and I want them to be good ripples.

What two things from NPC17 impacted you the most?