Originally posted 2.11.17
Happy Thursday!
In 2008 I attended an ASCD conference in New Orleans. This was the first ASCD conference I'd attended and I flitted around from session to session. While I cannot remember what my aim was, specifically, I know that one of the sessions I attended was about how leaders communicate to their faculty to ensure that their vision and values were common and shared.
Prior to that session I had been toying around with the idea of sharing a weekly email with my staff regarding what I was thinking about. I am someone who wanted to be a writer and writing is something I enjoy. That session inspired me to start what became known as "Lyon's Letters"--a weekly email to the faculty and staff highlighting things I may have been reading, thinking about, etc. I had no idea the impact that these Letters would have on my readers or myself.
Since the Spring of 2008, even with my changing jobs and family, I make the time each week to send a Letter. Years ago I contemplated whether or not to share the letters on a blog. I decided not to at the time. There was something about the web at the time that seemed overly public and, I must confess, that I am not a very tech savvy person compare to some. However, last week I attended a different conference. This one was called "Innovator's Mindset" and it was run by the author of the book by the same title, George Couros, who is on a mission to spread the limitless possibilities of technology. I will perhaps share more about the conference in a later post, but for now, suffice it to say, I wanted to tap into Couros's mindset 4, "Networked."
Networked, to me, is both about being able to share with others AND being able to receive from others; in other words, I think the best relationships are those where there is reciprocity. Thus, I hope if you're reading this that you share your thinking, reactions, and other ideas with me. I also hope that if I have written something that sparks you that you share this blog or the Letters with others!
~Heather
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