Teachers, you have something of value to offer other educators

A recent discussion with a colleague of mine reminded me of how often teachers feel that what they do in their classroom each day has little impact on others outside of that classroom.  I am not referring to the impact in reaching students but rather the impact fellow educators can have on one another.  It was only just a few years ago that I too felt as though what I did in the classroom related only to me and my students.  However, when I began the pursuit of an Ed.D. in Educational Technology at Boise State University, I was encouraged to move outside of my comfort zone and begin presenting at conferences.  My initial thought was what could I possibly have to share that would be of value to other teachers.  I quickly realized that much like the students all educators have their own strengths that other educators can learn from.  While I could go into a discussion of how I found my strengths and shared those with others, I think it is more important to remind other educators who may read this to share their strengths.  Your strength may be in a particular subject, a style of teaching, technology integration, developing relationships with students, or another possibility from the multitudes that are out there.  You have something of value to offer not only students but your colleagues as well.  Sometimes it is difficult to recognize this in yourself.  Take the time to understand your strengths and share them when you can. 

The video below is a surgeon who gave a group of teachers participating in an i-STEM summer workshop a tour of the surgical robot room.  After thanking him for his time and sharing of his strengths, he had the following to say in response about educators.