Have to start somewhere!

This has been a long time coming! Blogging hasn't been top priority but with the nudging of my EDlearning course, I'm jumping right in!
It's not that I don't have lots to say!  I just haven't quite seen the benefit of it. At the core, it's more than that. Deep down I've thought (like many people) that my ideas are just too ho-hum, common, and they just aren't worth spouting.  It just doesn't count.
Chalk it up to being in education over 22 years.  But that's the thing...the very thing that's changing in my mind, and maybe it's the very thing that I'm trying to preach to teachers. YOUR voice matters! I'm trying to convince teachers of this. So many have hushed their opinions, questions, ideas, reflections, and even debates.  They've grown complacent and we say "tsk, tsk, shame on you." 

But wait!  As a teacher in the classroom for many years, I remember vividly how this can happen to the most passionate and dedicated teacher.  Is anyone even listening?  Does my little voice and opinion ever really make a difference in the larger web of power?  We all know how powerless a teacher can feel.

This has become my mantra for the teachers I serve. Your voice matters! What you think, your experiences, your ideas, your opinions, passions, strengths, and needs, it all matters very much! 
So, I'm beginning to believe - and practice - what I preach.  I'm venturing out with the assumption that our voices together create the spark that not only defines who we are, but challenges and morphs us into a better whole.  Here's to the adventure of growing together!