Beyond thankful

I am one lucky person.  I had the amazing opportunity to attend the NAESP conference in Spokane as well as the NPC conference in Boston this summer.  It was two weeks of amazing connections on both sides of the United States, sharing stories and tears and laughs and every emotion in between.  I was able to reconnect with colleagues I've known for years and connect for the first time with educators I've known through Twitter and Voxer or who attended a session I was leading or attending.  It was completely amazing!

I have been asked by a few people to compare the two conferences and pick my favorite one.  That is truly impossible.  Before I reflect, I need to thank a few people.  Thanks to Merton Schools for allowing me the opportunity to travel to national conferences.  They are always supportive of extending my learning.  Thanks to my wife Jenifer and my daughter Lauren who encourage me to attend and present at conferences.  I hope they were able to see the passion that I have to be a better principal every day.  Now on to my reflection.

There were great things about each of the conferences, and I'll mention those separately, but these are the things that are common.

1.  The people are amazing.  I was able to connect in person with so many amazing educators.  I don't want to leave anyone out, but the four colleagues I presented with stand out to me.  I had the honor and privilege to present #PrincipalsInAction- Get Out of Your Office and Connect with Others- Redefining the Role with Mark French and Ryan Sheehy in Spokane and Connected in the Middle with Don Gately and Joe Mazza in Boston.

2.  The learning was, and still is, non-stop.  I continue to check in to the #NAESP19 and #NPC19 hashtags on Twitter for new nuggets.  The reflections that people are sharing make me reflect.  The quotes from the speakers and sessions that people are tweeting and retweeting make me think.  The links to sessions that people are sharing keeps the learning going.  It would be great to keep the hashtags alive for the entire year but that might not be practical.

3.  The motivation to be better is strong.  I have used the phrase "constant gentle pressure" for a long time.  These two conferences made me feel that every day.  Whether I was in a session, enjoying connecting at a gathering, or having face to face conversations, I left being motivated to be better.  Someone is always doing something awesome.  I want to be awesome, too.  I just need to find a way to take what I have learned and tweak it to make it work for Merton.  I go to school in Merton and we call that "Mertonizing".

4.  What is normal for you just might be innovative for someone else.  This comment stands on its own.  Never sell your ideas short.  Jessica Gomez questioned whether she was innovative at the Center for Innovative Leadership session I attended.  What she realized was that her normal was innovative for others.  The same is true for all of us.  Here is a link to the podcast that Hamish Brewer and Andy Jacks created with Jessica Gomez to learn more.

5.  The connections continue to grow.  Mark, Ryan, and I organized a picture of #principalsinaction friends at the big red wagon in Spokane, and the conversations continued at a gathering afterwards.  Don, Joe, and I put a padlet in our presentation to help facilitate connections.  I was able to follow some new colleagues on Twitter and they were able to follow me.  I had the chance to speak with so many of my eduheroes who were so willing to spend some time with me.  But honestly the best part of connecting was when Joe Sanfelippo and Jimmy Casas stopped by to speak with my wife Jenifer and my daughter Lauren at a gathering we attended.  Lauren wants to be a teacher and I know that Joe and Jimmy made an impression on her that she won't forget.  Thank you, Joe and Jimmy!  I made a first time connection with D'Wayne from Illinois at that same gathering.  We spoke about our journey to become educators, both of which started off by pursuing careers in engineering.  One little spark with kids was all it took for both of us to realize that education was our true calling and passion.  Thank you for your time, D'Wayne!

Some of our #principalsinaction group in Spokane

Middle school Tweeps Sanee Bell, Jessica Cabeen, and Beth Houf in Boston

So what's the difference between NAESP and NPC?  NAESP was in Spokane and NPC was in Boston.  NAESP had mostly elementary school principals and NPC had mostly middle and high school principals.  That's it- location and level of school where principals serve.  What I found was that the more I became involved in a session or a conversation, the more I learned.  If you are willing to become involved and connected, you are bound to come away with learning like you'll never experience anywhere else.