Image by Tony the Misfit via Flickr WOW!  What a week it has been.  I am moved and inspired, as should ALL Americans be, by the events of yesterday.  Whether you are a Republican or Democrat, you must pause for a moment and reflect on where this great country is, and how this moment came to be.

A major political party just selected an African American to be its candidate for President of the United States of America.  And an amazingly bright and passionate woman was the alternative choice for this high honor.  Wait. Stop. Think.  Remember the 60s and 70s?    I never dreamed that in my lifetime, our Country would be ready for this big step, whether a woman or a person of color was the selection.

Clearly, many factors have converged to bring our Nation to this point.  Many glass ceilings have been cracked, if not totally broken.  The GenX crowd has been raised in an environment that has no memory of ‘whites only’ drinking fountains and segregated buses.  Most Americans embrace, and even revere, the memory and legacy of Martin Luther King.

But the SINGLE most impactful change?  EDUCATION.  As we learn more about one another — our history, our background, our culture — we are able to shed many of our old biases and perspectives.  Knowledge is POWER, and that power can translate into real, sustainable, positive change when applied to our life and our work and our dreams.

I just stumbled into a post from Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education and former governor of West Virginia.  He describes five things that the next president could do to ensure that our students are prepared for college or the modern workplace. In a nutshell, they are:

1.  Improve policy and funding

2. Improve reading comprehension

3. Promote common state curriculum standards

4. Ensure support and training for educators

5. Measure and improve graduation rates

OK.  That’s all well and good.  But since the WeAreTeachers team is all about TEACHER ADVOCACY — I have a couple more to add.

6.  RE-DEFINE ‘education’ as the transfer of skill and knowledge that occurs both inside and outside institutions.  In other words, respect and support teaching and learning that improves the human condition, not just traditional academics.  We need to re-focus our energy on the arts, on creativity, on physical fitness, on values, on ethics. . . the things that really ensure success in a flat world, and have a huge impact on the quality of life.

7.  EMPOWER and SUPPORT the BEST teachers.  Great teachers must be sought out, given a voice, provided real decision-making authority.  We must find a way to connect teachers who demonstrate both content mastery and excellence in teaching to the education materials industry,  so that their expertise can impact others.  And we need to empower these great teachers to reach beyond just the walls of their institutions.  Finally we need to find ways to PAY them appropriately, so that they can teach for a real LIVING, not just a paycheck.

So — in this time of political focus, let’s keep our eye on the REAL change agents in our culture — the people responsible for improving the human condition, and passing on the strength of our collective wisdom and learnings from one generation to the next.  While politicians can help to provide the scaffolding and inspiration for change, REAL change occurs when real learning occurs.  And that’s the job of our best and brightest and most engaged teachers.

Book cover via Amazon Wow!  Where did the summer go?

I just read the blog from my friend and colleague, John Costilla  in which he recaps Summer 2008. (I really recommend this post.  As usual, John does a great job of providing good information, as well as links to helpful sites).

I also just spoke with my daughter and her 2 school age kids.  Tonight was “meet your teacher” night at our local elementary school, and the girls are ALL abuzz with excitement — meeting their teacher AND verifying that some of their best friends did, indeed, make it into their class.

I’m so grateful and honored to be able to experience this wild enthusiasm for school with my grandchildren.  They are SO awestruck and excited –  ready to move from the dull days of summer to the excitement and buzz of a new school year.  My intense hope is that this positive energy propels them through the year.  If they were in just any old school, I would worry, since we’ve all seen how testing and bureacracy and mediocrity can quickly kill a love for learning.  But this school offers chess, dance, robotics, organic gardening, special music programs — so many terrific programs during and after school, I hold to the hope that the  youthful love of learning will prevail.

And there is another place where great learning is ensured.  Two amazing teachers I met this year at NECC (National Education Computing Conference) are going to spread their learning. Julie Lindsay and Vicki Davis are amazing teachers.  They created something called the “Flat Classroom Project,” and are welcoming other teachers to join in this adventure.  Julie teaches at  Qatar Academy, Doha, and Vicki teaches at Westwood Schools, in Camilla, GA US.  Talk about an opportunity for cultural exchange!

To see a summary of some of the outputs of the 2007 project, you can look here.  To learn more about what’s planned for this year, including how to apply to be one of 10 schools selected for participation, check out Julie’s post.  The plan for this year is to focus on the 10 ‘flatteners’ as outlined in Thomas Friedman’s book, The World is Flat.

SO — As the summer winds down and school winds ‘up,’ this ex-teacher, mother of 8, grandma of 11, CEO of a company (WeAreTeachers) that genuinely cares about promoting GREAT teachers  is downright GRATEFUL.  . . Grateful to have witnessed so many changes in schooling, teaching, and learning.  Grateful to see my grandkids still achieve excellent learning in public schools.  And GRATEFUL to wonderful teachers like Julie and Vicki for, not only  bravely teaching in a Flat World, but also willing to share their learnings and expertise to encourage greatness in others.

My hat is tipped to you 2 ladies, and all the other teachers like you on the globe.  Keep on keeping on.

In doing my usual evening meandering around the bloggosphere — I was struck by a common thread.

I read Ewan McIntosh’s blog post from today about Gianna Cassidy’s work in the arena of music, our emotions, and games we play.  (BTW — I Ewan’s blogs are worth following — I strongly recommend).

Then I stumbled on Beth Kanter’s  post about the power of being a ‘newbie’ —- that is, seeing things like a child, first hand, without the filters of experience to spoil the view.

Another favorite blogger — Darren Kuropatwa had some interesting comments about his experiences at Alan November’s Building Learning Communities conference in Boston from July 15 to 18. He noticed a subtle but important shift from discussions about various techie tools to excited conversations about changes in pedagogy and student learning.

And, of course, I read the writing and musings of my very good friend John Costilla in which he talks a bit about his personal history with technology in education, and his growth in looking beyond just ‘the tool’ to the ‘teaching.’ (John and I, along with a team of VERY talented folk, are running a company called WeAreTeachers — hoping to place empowering tools and even economic opportunity directly in the hands of our very best teachers.)

So, what’s the point of all this?  Well — It dawned on me, as I read thoughts from people I admire, and whose viewpoints I value — that these wonderful PEOPLE are the key.  Somehow, this weird, wired, and facinating Web 2.0 world is connecting us all — not just academically or intellectually — but on some level, even emotionally.  We are able to share the human experience in ways not available to us just a few short years ago.  I find myself ‘talking’ and connecting with many people I’ve never even met face-to-face.  And  yet, I sense their passion, their vision, and their dreams. And on some level, I know them as a result.

In this politically charged time, I’m reminded of a  slogan which I believe originated with James Carville.  “It’s the economy, stupid.”  While the economy is still the pundits’ favorite sound bite — this time around represented by the high cost of fuel — I’m hopeful that “It’s the PEOPLE, stupid” will prevail as the mantra for 2008.  Perhaps this web-driven, web-connected world may, in fact, launch an interesting oxymoron:  That is, perhaps the ‘machine’ which some feared would de-humanize us all will be the very tool that makes our globe so  ’small’ that we are able to achieve a new kind of intimacy with one another. . . a new way to share the very human experience we have in common.  A new way to break down old political, geographical, racial, ethnic, barriers that separated us before.

So — THANKS to all my ‘virtual friends’ out there.  Keep feeding my mind, my soul, and my hope.

Peace,
Sandy

Image via Wikipedia

I recently read the book “Eat, Pray, Love” — by Elizabeth Gilbert, and I was struck by something she talks about in her introduction.

In India, lots of Yogis wear beads, called japa malas. They have been used in India for centuries to keep Hindus and Buddhists focused during meditation. When the medieval Crusadors went East during the holy wars, this idea was brought back to Europe, and is the basis for the Rosary still in use today in Western cultures.

The traditional Japa Mala has 108 beads. But each one has a separate, generally larger 109th bead, which is meant to give you pause to move from meditation to thankfulness — thankfulness to your teachers.

How amazing that this ancient tradition places TEACHERS in such very high regard.  Teachers — the way to pass the culture from one generation to another.  Teachers — the guiding light for spirtual journey and growth.  Teachers — caretakers and guides for the children in our midst.   Teachers –providing the fuel and scaffolding that supports the economic engine of every country and our of globe.  Teachers — the best hope for positive change in the future.

HMMMM — So how many teachers have YOU thanked this week? Do YOU have a 109th bead?

We should all pause.  Whether a Japa Mala, a Rosary, or a simple pause of reflection, let’s all take a moment to be grateful for all the teachers in our lives and in the lives of our children.

I am grateful for all my 109th beads.

Namaste.

Wanted to share some exciting news about a new WeAreTeachers tool to help teachers in Facebook Connect!  What follows is a press release we are pushing out ‘officially’ on Monday!

WeAreTeachers Launches Facebook Application Allowing Teachers to Share and Sell Teaching Materials and Services inside their own Knowledge Marketplace.

Austin, TX — WeAreTeachers, the “Knowledge Marketplace” community for teachers to share and sell their instructional materials and services or earn when they recommend commercial products, today revealed a new application that offers teachers access to this knowledge marketplace inside their Facebook profile. The I Am Teacher Facebook application brings teacher-generated content and services and commercial products to teachers and learners inside the Facebook community.

Download the I Am Teacher application now.

For teachers who have Facebook profiles and wish to find other teachers in the network, the I Am Teacher application fosters connection and collaboration inside this large community. “While many teachers have joined the WeAreTeachers community , we also want to offer teachers of all types, wherever they gather, an aggregated knowledge marketplace within the Facebook I Am Teacher application,” says Sandy Fivecoat, CEO and Founder of WeAreTeachers.

Teachers who have content to share or sell or instructional services that they provide will be able to add and price their products into the Knowledge Marketplace on I AmTeacher in Facebook. The Knowledge Marketplace will give teachers a way to reach teachers and learners on Facebook worldwide. Additionally, companies that wish to partner with WeAreTeachers can add their product catalogs into the WeAreTeachers Knowledge Marketplace and have teachers review, recommend or buy their products. This gives business affiliates an immediate online distribution channel to the growing 40,000 current WeAreTeachers members and also gives them a viral strategy to the more than 50 million Facebook community members.

“Businesses are looking for ways to reach the growing number of members inside of Facebook and other social networks,” says Sandy Fivecoat. “Our business model is designed to help them do that. Through the I Am Teacher Facebook application, our business partners have a low-risk, low development entry into the social network community and the ability to reach a target audience specific to their consumer types.” WeAreTeachers has over eighty current business partners and that list is growing rapidly. WeAreTeachers has created a way for businesses, learners and teachers to connect in a way that leverages and supports how online communities interact.

WeAreTeachers realizes that banner advertisement and search engine optimization strategies are common tactics of many businesses trying to reach teachers. The philosophy of WeAreTeachers is to create real monetary value for its members and partners by using an interception strategy that places contextual content where teachers are gathering online. WeAreTeachers plans to distribute its Knowledge Marketplace to more existing social networks to reach teachers where they are connecting, collaborating and can now–buy, sell, and recommend instructional resources online.

About WeAreTeachers
WeAreTeachers is the first ‘Knowledge Marketplace’ designed to empower teachers of all types by enabling tangible rewards to all who deliver skill and knowledge to others. The WeAreTeachers community will help teachers gain financial benefit through the publishing and selling of their own content, by promoting and delivering their time or tutoring services, and through recommending commercially available products to others. For more information, visit WeAreTeachers.