Blogs on Teacher Development

On June 12, Anne Frank could have celebrated her 83rd birthday had she not died in a Nazi concentration camp. It's not a stretch to imagine that she would have been surrounded by loved ones, celebrated for her literary contributions, and acknowledged for her compassion and contributions to peace and justice.

It started as a simple idea . . . What if it were possible to mentor a new teacher via a virtual mentor instead of the traditional 1-to-1 mentoring model? What if you used the power of digital resources to aid in this support, making sure that each had a particular strength in the key areas needed by a new teacher? What if you had key team members, virtual or on-site, that each took a role in that work?

I'm the proud daughter of a lifelong public school teacher, and one of the things my mom loved best about being an educator was the opportunity to travel in the spring and summer. She brought artifacts, photographs, language, and lessons from every place she traveled back into her classroom, and her students were richer for it. Now retired, my mom made a goal of visiting every continent, and she goes to schools in nearly every country she visits, enchanting the children there with bubble bottles, pencils, and her trademark stuffed-animal backpack purses.

So I know that teachers are natural adventurers. I'm sure you don't need convincing to see that whether you have the resources to travel internationally or just take a short local trip, traveling can be enriching both personally and professionally for educators. Just watch the videos in this week's playlist for some ideas!

I often get emails from teachers looking for the perfect tool for their class. I love that teachers are excited to find new tools and integrate them into their lesson plans. As someone who has experience with different tools, I'm a logical person to ask for help when looking for something new. I have a dirty little secret, though.