This morning I created a presentation using Google slides. Not a huge deal, actually something that many of us do on a regular basis. But I wasn't motivated to start working on the presentation until my former colleague and dear friend Marcie Faust emailed and said: "let's collaborate on this today." We then hopped on the phone and onto the shared doc and voila! a presentation was born. It actually turned out pretty well and I am now looking forward to presenting it with her and Maureen Chertow Miller at an upcoming event. But this is not the important part of the story - the important part is the motivational piece. We laughed about how neither of us were particularly motivated to work on the project until we could work on it together. We are, after all, busy working moms and educational administrators. It's not easy to find extra minutes in the day. Then I told her about "sit with me, Ma."
When I started teaching WAY back in 1997, my department chair in the English department at Clarkstown North High School was the legendary Christine Markham. She used to joke about how helping her new teachers plan and work through challenges was always easier if she sat next to them. She called it, "sit with me, Ma." Our "new teacher nerves" floated away as soon as we were in her presence. We learned from her, an experienced veteran who had seen and done it all, by sitting by her side and watching HER work as well as getting her feedback and guidance on our own work. To this day, when I'm feeling overwhelmed with a task or too busy to take it on, I will often seek out others to collaborate with, or just to sit with, in order to accomplish the challenge.
But isn't that what it's all about? Collaboration. Social learning. We are all social creatures and we simply work better together. Our students do, too. If those students are 5 years old or 50 years old, people like to learn and grow together. Sometimes to lighten the load, sometimes to learn from the experience of others and, sometimes, just to keep each other motivated.
So whether you choose to sit physically or virtually, sometimes you just need to "sit with me, Ma" in order to accomplish your goals.
PS: A HUGE thanks to Marcie for demanding that I write this post. XOXO
When I started teaching WAY back in 1997, my department chair in the English department at Clarkstown North High School was the legendary Christine Markham. She used to joke about how helping her new teachers plan and work through challenges was always easier if she sat next to them. She called it, "sit with me, Ma." Our "new teacher nerves" floated away as soon as we were in her presence. We learned from her, an experienced veteran who had seen and done it all, by sitting by her side and watching HER work as well as getting her feedback and guidance on our own work. To this day, when I'm feeling overwhelmed with a task or too busy to take it on, I will often seek out others to collaborate with, or just to sit with, in order to accomplish the challenge.
But isn't that what it's all about? Collaboration. Social learning. We are all social creatures and we simply work better together. Our students do, too. If those students are 5 years old or 50 years old, people like to learn and grow together. Sometimes to lighten the load, sometimes to learn from the experience of others and, sometimes, just to keep each other motivated.
So whether you choose to sit physically or virtually, sometimes you just need to "sit with me, Ma" in order to accomplish your goals.
PS: A HUGE thanks to Marcie for demanding that I write this post. XOXO
