Sunday, March 31, 2013

Admitting Our Fears

Heights.

Standardized test scores.

Spiders.

Parent-Teacher conferences.

The word "moist".

Failure.


In and out of the classroom teachers, administrators, students, and everyone else has some fears or insecurities, but facing those fears is where you separate leaders from the rest. Vicki Davis posted this on her Cool Cat Teacher Blog late last year:
"I think it is hard for many people to realize that fear is a natural part of being innovative. If you do ANYTHING at all, fear is often part of that. "
Fear can motivate us or it can hold us back from achieving amazing and innovative things. I started a blog this year - scary stuff. I started coaching soccer for the first time a few months ago - scary stuff. I started running professional development for other more experienced teachers and administrators this year - holy guacamole! Scary stuff. Now, I find myself looking forward to blogging, searching out materials to use in different blog posts, and sharing them with others in a new light. Now, I'm reading soccer coaching books and finding segues into teacher and learning that I had never been introduced to before. Now, I have realized a passion for teaching adults that I never knew existed. Fear is a good then when realized and used as a guide.
I have accepted fear as a part of life – specifically the fear of change…. I have gone ahead despite the pounding in the heart that says: turn back.  ~ Erica Jong
What fear is holding you back? Realize your fears and take the first step to overcome them. This might be talking with a colleague about the fears, this might be doing a little research and trying something new yourself before asking others to join you, or it might just be admitting you have a fear of something. Here's a challenge for you - pick something that you fear from the list below and do it; let your fear of it guide you instead of stopping you. Already conquered all these? Add your unlisted fear to the list by leaving a comment at the bottom - the first step to overcoming a fear is admitting it.

Try Blogging!
Here is a webinar called Fear Factor: Taking the Fear Out of Blogging and here are the great resources they mention for getting started with blogging that they mention,

Try a New Project with Your Students!
Infographics --> Here is a great post by Bill Ferriter on his blog The Tempered Radical

Common Craft Style Videos --> This is a great resource post by Paul Bogush.

Tackle the Topics of Bullying Once and For All!
Use one of these 4 Great Online Anti-Bullying Initiatives to get the ball rolling on an anti-bullying program unique to your school's or classroom's needs.

Need to start simplier yet? Have your staff read this NY Times article on how to define bullying to help everyone create a common language around this hot topic in education.

Participate in a MOOC and Learn Something New!
MOOCs? Pshh who cares about MOOCs? Take a minute to read Why MOOCs Matter by Keith Hamon, and you'll be itching to participate in a MOOC.

Find a MOOC of interst at A Master List of 700 Free Courses From Great Universities from Open Culture
and learn something new!

Try Out a New EdTech Tool!
Try out PosterOven to create a poster to get teachers excited about the next PD you are leading or to get students asking questions about the next topic in your class!

Use a QR code to get students using thier devices and interacting digitally with material and you! Here are two simple ways to use QR codes.



Image source

Creative Commons License
Admitting Our Fears by Anthony Pascoe is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

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