Sometimes things stop you in your tracks. Jar you. Make you rethink. That happened a couple of minutes ago. I’m reading The Innovator’s Mindset: Empower Learning, Unleash Talent, and Lead a Culture of Creativity by George Couros. I just read this, “Today, isolation is a choice educators make. Our connectivity and learning opportunities have changed in recent years, and, thankfully, many teachers are taking advantage of those changes to benefit themselves and, more importantly, their students. We have access to information and, equally valuable, to each other.”
Isolation is a choice. This almost makes me laugh out loud in its simple truth. One of the ‘old school’ messages about teaching is that it’s an isolationist practice. Everyone knew that when teachers share and work together, better things tend to happen for themselves and their students. I just hadn’t thought about the point blank fact that isolation is a choice now. There are many easy to find, enriching ideas. The use of twitter for example is well exemplified by Couros’s brother’s statement, “Social media is not meant to be another form of email, but, as my brother would say, more like dipping your cup into a stream of information. You do not need to keep up with everything. By simply being in the space, the best ideas will make their way to you.”
The fact is that this is true. For a teacher today to be isolated is a choice. Professional learning opportunities are everywhere. They do not need to be overwhelming. Be in the space. Dip one’s cup into the stream. The best ideas will make their way to you.
Wow.
The Lighting of a Fire 
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