I feel sometimes we overlook the value of the professionals in your building and district. Get to know these other teachers and staff, even if they teach a different subject or age group. You will learn ways they deal with classroom management that may work in your classroom. Maybe they found an app that would work in your classroom if you just tweaked it. The idea of visiting other teacher's classrooms intrigues me. I have visited one class and have another planned but I think some are afraid that I am coming in to judge but we can all learn from everyone. I have been teaching 18 years but I love to see some of the things the young teachers are trying. I also like to see how some of my students learn in other classrooms. Maybe I can learn from successes another teacher have with a student that I struggle with.Also by getting to know other teachers in the building, it gives you someone to go to. I know that Mrs. Ulrich is going to give me a different perspective and Mrs. Stausing is going to give me her honest feedback. If I want to integrate art in a lesson, I know Mr. Daniels will be thrilled the help me out and all these amazing teachers are in the same building as I am in!
Through FBLA and Southeast MO Business Educators Association, I have gotten to know other high school business teachers in the area. These are great people to have in my network because they are business education experts. They are great people to consult when changing books, adding classes, writing grants and keeping up with changes in career education like technical skills assessments or advisory committees. I have also built my network though conferences. Some of those conferences have to do with professional organizations that I belong to such as Missouri Business Educators or just amazing conferences like the Midwest Education Technology Conference.And then there are those people we connect with on social media and I have a bunch of those as well! Using Twitter I have connected with a teacher that grew up in a neglected home and has taught me how to better connect with students in neglected homes. I exchange ideas with education professionals across the country and world. I have connected with authors and those on the cutting edge of education theory. I have debated current issues with experts in the field.
I don't believe any PLN is complete without a wide variety of professionals, so go out and find those amazing teachers. Find a wide variety professionals that you can support and they can support you, it will make you a better and more efficient teacher!
