Blogtoberfest, Day 26: Mike Grove
How have connections with other professionals improved your practice? Today's entry is from Mike Grove, Associate Superintendent of Educational Services:
Connections are the reason I’m in education. Connections are relationships and I very much believe that relationships, and the collaboration they engender, are the key to any professional success I've found. As a young high school English teacher, connections with colleagues helped me learn how to become a professional and how to improve my own practice. The experience of brainstorming ideas for curriculum and teaching strategies, learning from our collective successes and failures, laughing together, and, yes, venting frustration, made me a better teacher for my students and, most importantly, made me feel as if I was part of a larger whole rather than an independent contractor pursuing isolated goals. When I became an administrator, I continued to build connections and relationships with mentors, with teachers with whom I worked, and with the families I served. Through various professional organizations, graduate study, and random professional interactions I've developed relationships with colleagues in districts across the county and state and I can’t overstate how enlightening it is to learn how things are done in other districts. It’s too easy to settle into patterns within a district based upon past practice and exposure to fresh perspectives has helped me see new and different approaches and has also deepened my commitment to my core values and practices – frequently I've learned what not to do through connections with colleagues in other districts!
On a pragmatic basis, professional connections provide me with a network of expertise and advice on which I can draw when I am unsure of a direction or simply don’t have knowledge on a subject. More importantly, these connections build trust and shared commitment among myself and those with whom I work toward common goals. When I am connected with other professionals, I develop a shared obligation with them – an obligation to them as colleagues and with them to our shared goals for our students. These connections eliminate the sense of isolation that can pervade education – as a teacher and as an administrator, connections have always been the key to making me feel as if I am not toiling alone, but rather as a part of a larger whole and this is not only more fun, but also inspires me to give my best to my colleagues and our students. This is why I choose to work in education – because I get to work as a part of a connected team in an endeavor to improve the learning and lives of our students and, therefore, the community in which we live.
