Networking. Investing. Collaborating. Being interconnected. I am struck by these concepts this week. Mid-October and the blues. Not quite cold enough. Not quite warm enough. Nothing really happening yet. Kids in class are antsy. Connect these thoughts and add a touch of sharing and you realize that no one has to do this whole teaching thing alone. Everyone has someone out there who would be willing to help, listen, or do, if they were asked. We’re all very interconnected.
A grad of mine was recently in an awful teaching situation – a new job in a dangerous neighborhood, kids fighting in class, administration ineffective. When asked, my advice was to get out as quickly as possible. I made an email connection between him and another grad who had lived through a similar, difficult teaching experience. Gratefully, he took the advice and will soon be starting a new position in a new district. We’re all very interconnected.
More grads, a married couple, have embarked on the creation of a podcast about Disney because she has built a small Disney travel business based on her love of all things Mickey. I posted the info on my FB page to help them build a necessary network for their success. We’re all very interconnected.
My last Monday night rehearsal was charmed by the presence of yet another grad who came into work with my tenors and basses – encouraging, demonstrating, sharing his skill and passion for choral music and the teaching of high school singers. He connected with my guys in a very short amount of time and helped to boost confidence and cause them to create a sound they didn’t think was possible! So rewarding to watch! We’re all very interconnected.
These small stories could go on and on. I don’t need to walk my path alone. You don’t need to walk your path alone. They don’t need to walk their path alone. There are so many folks out there with whom we are connected and to whom we reach out when we need to reconnect. It’s something we should not ever forget.
Are you reaching out to your connections? Are you networking and connecting people from your classroom to the world beyond? Are you doing simple and special things for yourself to make it through the mid-October blues?
Next week is Halloween and the week after is a long weekend! We’re almost there!
Thanks, as always, for reading.
Barbara