Top 10 Reasons I'm Reflecting on Reflecting

I recently tweeted a quote from John Dewey, "We do not learn from experience...we learn from reflecting on experience." The reason behind the quote was that several recent events have led me to think about the power of reflection and what it means for us to think about our experiences through reflective practices.  Here are my top ten recent events, people, and/or reasons why improving my reflective practice has become a popular theme in my life and why it will become a personal goal of mine:

Top 10 Reasons I'm Reflecting on Reflecting is to be able to...

10:  ...finally say, "Please check out my latest blog post,"
I will finally be able to Tweet this!!!!!  Every time I saw a blog post on Twitter, I initially wondered what the big deal was and why blogging has taken off. As began reading more and more, I changed my wonder to why I am not getting the clue.  My blog exposure began with Connected Principals but has now grown to several educators from around the country that I subscribe to and read on a daily basis.

9: ...show learning is messy!
Guaranteed Learning For Every Student.  Our district mission statement is simple in text, but loaded in meaning.  Learning is messy, there will be bumps, hurdles, pitfalls, freefalls, and everything else along the way.  As I break down Dewey's quote further, the only way to overcome the challenges in education is to reflect, which leads us to learning and adapting.

8: ...avoid hearing, "This too shall pass..."
Often times big changes in school district lose steam or support and fizzle away, allowing time to reflect the the "why" or "how" of those efforts will help.  Our PBIS committee is making a concentrated effort to promote our school and sell our "brand." Through their efforts campaigning, The Warrior Way, throughout our district, we have found ourselves reflecting constantly on how to sustain our efforts.  Working with this committee has given me a model of sustaining success with the use of reflective practice throughout the year and that is paying dividends to our student on a daily basis.

7: ...get my wife off my back! :)
Short and sweet, my wife is incredibly supportive and she takes an interest in my job.  Sometimes she doesn't appreciate my lack of participation in at-home work discussions, specifically when it has been a tough day.  This way she can read about it! Love you Lydia!

6: ...be able to give people a S/O!
I like to brag about our students, our staff, our school, and our communities any chance I get.  Through reflection, I can find more powerful ways to acknowledge what is great about our district and recognize those responsible for it.  Reflection can be a motivating experience as much as it can be a learning experience.

5: ...surround myself with the smart people.
My PLN has grown substantial over the past two years because of my exposure to all of smart people in education via social media outlets, conferences, local school district personal, and other networking opportunities.  When I learn the most from all of these smart people is when they reflect, and I listen.  When they reflect in their own blogs, on Twitter chats, presenting at conferences, and through constant questioning on a quest for student leaning, I reap the benefits that have helped make me a better educator.

4: ...push my "agenda"......joking, but seriously....
All joking aside it is time for me to walk the walk, I titled my blog after a sign that has followed me around my entire educational career, "It is not what you SAY, it is what you DO that counts." We constantly ask our staff to "think about this strategy," "reflect on that approach," or "tell me what you can learn from that experience," but rarely do I openly practice the same virtues.  It is time I model the importance of reflective practice to my staff.

3:  ...sit in my room and think about what I just did!
We recently facilitated a "Notice and Wonder" protocol with teachers to share their work with our unit planning professional development artifacts, receive critical feedback, and reflect on those comments from their colleagues.  It was a simple process, and something we have done with similar exercises, but the feedback was overwhelmingly positive because it gave them things to "think" about or simply put they reflected.

2:  ...become Divergent?
While co-teaching with my 8th ELA teacher, Mrs. Pavelec and working through the popular teen novel Divergent as one of our text, my relationship with Mrs. Pavelec has evolved into one of several e-mail and Google doc correspondence for our planning.  What I have found most beneficial are the reflective conversations we have on a daily basis about 4th and 6th periods.  She has shown me the importance of reflecting on each 42 minute period, so we can plan what is best for our students and the next 42 minutes we have with them.  The influence our reflective conversations have had are a great testament to the importance of providing time and structure that allows for staff collaboration and more importantly it has had a positive impact on our students.

1:  ... because Shaelynn Farnsworth told me to!!!
As, I sat with Shaelynn planning some technology integration ideas, digital citizenship curriculum, and overall conversation about what is good in education, she asked if I blogged.  I responded sheepishly, "No."  The look of disappointment on her face, was enough for the final push I needed.

What better way  for me to reflect than to blog.  I can already tell I will benefit greatly from it, and I hope at least a couple others (besides my wife!) will as well.  If nothing else, I have just counted 10 my first 10 blog post items!