I spent some time this morning running errands, and had time to reflect on a skype conversation I had last night with a few online friends. We talked about several things, but one thing stuck in my head. I must tell you that in this company of people, I always feel welcome, but can’t believe how much they know about tech compared to me! I always leave the conversation with a new idea, or a new understanding of something. So it shocked me last night when someone said ” I don’t have anything to teach, but I have a lot to learn.” Now, I am not going to mention names, but let me tell you, this person has already taught me so much! How can she think she has nothing to teach? Is she being humble, or does she truly not see how much we all learn from her?!
Do you think that most of us feel we know less than the others? I still mentally say to myself before every conference deadline, ” I am sure everyone knows this already, so I don’t know why I think I have any business presenting it.” Then I go to the conference, and most times there are some people who want to learn about what I am doing. I just find it funny that people who I learn from all the time have that same thought of not having anything new to teach. In a way, I like it, because when you enter into a converation online, you may not have a clue who it is you are really talking to, but you are sharing ideas, learning from each other. It could be someone who has been doing ed tech for years, or it could be someone who is just beginning. Either way, I learn. If you have been in this for a long time, chances are I would be too chicken to walk up and have a conversation with you face to face, but I will sure chat with your avatar in SL! Even if you have just begun to explore the world of ed tech, I can learn from you! You see things with fresh eyes, ask questions that make me re-think how I do things. Maybe you know what you know, or maybe you don’t. I just think that the next time you hesitate to comment on a blog, or chat on a ustream, you should remember that no matter where you are in your ed tech journey, someone can learn from you! Step up! Speak! Be heard!
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June 20th, 2008 at 4:14 am
I know I know less than others! Even in my classes, where I am paid to be a teacher, I am on equal footing with all the learners. I tell them emphatically that I am not their teacher, that we are all learners here, and I mean it! This gives many middle school students a confidence to learn because they find I will not tell them they are wrong. Those who want to view me as teacher are really not viewing it so, they just like to call me that. Those are the ones for whom I am already the guide on the side. It is those entrenched in the industrial pinnings of ’school’, or schooliness like clay burell says, that I seek to reach. And it works, as the class average attests. What is the average? A-, so I have some work to do. We are all learners here!