Relationships (build the better teacher)

My (younger and better looking) colleagues, Wil Maney, Tony Dezio, and I were invited to the ECET2NC conference this past weekend in Charlotte, NC.  Funded by the Gates Foundation, this conference promised new ideas, and inspiration.  Wil Maney and I were both especially excited to go, because we were selected based on our mentor (veteran teacher, me!) and mentee (newer teacher, Wil!) relationship.   I would argue that the conference had some great moments, but also suffered due to time constraints.

But the crucial takeaway from spending two days with great teachers from all across the state of North Carolina is...

1. THERE ARE SOME REALLY AMAZING TEACHERS IN THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA.  And, 
2. Relationships are still everything.  

Through all of the programming and speakers at this event, what most inspired me was meeting other teachers, getting to know them, and learning about them.  From there, I became interested in their teaching.  And we developed trust.  As our relationships developed, our ability to learn from each other increased.  This was also true for Wil Maney, Tony Dezio, and me as well.  We learned more about each other, and when our conversations touched on teaching and learning - they were so much more meaningful.

We discussed more about our issues as a public school teacher than ever before, and by the time we returned home - we had some new ideas about our approaches to teaching, to learning, and to our leadership potential (coming soon!).  And we learned to trust each other's ideas, and know that we would each be taken seriously.

But most importantly, we are closer.  We are better friends.  And we have new friends from Wilmington, Raleigh, Charlotte, and even right here in Asheville.

So, how do we make better teachers?  I'm still not exactly sure, but I know how to start..

Relationships and trust.