An Invitation

An invitation to a new reality

In his best selling personal development book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey writes:

“Independent thinking alone is not suited to interdependent reality. Independent people who do not have the maturity to think and act interdependently may be good individual producers, but they won’t be good leaders. . .”

Let’s face it. Teaching can be a lonely job–which naturally lends itself to a spirit of responsibility and independence. We come to the classroom. We meet the demands of a rigorous schedule. We inspire and support critical and creative thinking. We nurture a curiosity in our students that will prepare them for success in the 21st century. We grade papers and tests, complete paperwork, meet with parents, and monitor lunch rooms. Some of us even coach athletic teams or advise clubs and other extra-curricular activities before, during and after school. Then we go home, grab a bite to eat, touch base with our families and prepare to do it all over again the next day.

Wash, rinse, repeat.

Day after day, a teacher’s life is filled with the needs of our students. Independence? It’s in the job description. Unfortunately, this doesn’t leave much room for meaningful professional interaction. If that sounds about right, consider this an invitation to change your reality.
Simply put, We Teach We Learn is a community of educators reflecting, sharing and growing. Sometimes we celebrate because our students amaze us. Sometimes we commiserate, because it isn’t always pretty. We’re all human after all, and when you care about the craft of teaching, it’s natural to have moments of doubt. We can’t help but notice, however, that something magical happens when teachers get together and begin to share. An understanding flows from the recognition of a common experience. This flow carries along with it a natural desire to support and inspire, to empathize and nurture.

Walls come down, and from the rubble, we build new paths on which to take new journeys and connect with new friends. Together, we resonate and energize. We bolster confidence and enthusiasm. Shifts take place. Imagination opens doors. Hidden possibilities emerge, and we remember again why we chose this most unique profession.

We Teach We Learn is a place to get together. To connect. To share. To grow. To refresh a weary spirit. To collaborate. To join in a powerful community of teachers who take pride in the fact that they are also learners. To move from professional independence to interdependence.

How to best use We Teach We Learn (because we’re all about making your life easier)

This site is packed with helpful tips, inspirational stories, and engaging ongoing discussions. Just like our classrooms, We Teach We Learn is a very busy place. Things are changing all the time. So really, the best way to stay up to speed is to sign up for a free subscription. That way, you’ll receive all the latest content right in your email or feed reader without having to to actually click around looking for what might be new. Plus it’s a huge time saver. Learn all about subscribing to We Teach We Learn and how to do it here.

But it doesn’t stop there. Because we don’t have all the answers (and we think our readers are the smartest people on the planet), you’ll find discussions sprouting up under almost every post in this web site. In fact, we value this exchange of ideas so much that we’ve designed it into the core of the We Teach We Learn experience. Indeed, we don’t even think of this as a web “site” anymore–too static. No. We Teach We Learn is a web “stream,” (inter) actively bubbling and chattering and flowing with ideas, debate, and inspiration.

We very much want to hear from you! So at the bottom of each post, you’ll find a place to leave a comment. If reading something (either an article or a comment) resonates with you, tell us (and the rest of our readers) why. If, on the other hand, something infuriates you, don’t hold back.

And don’t let fear of spam (junk in your email) stop you from jumping in. We’re not collecting email addresses. We’re not in the business of sharing them either. You can trust us. We get it. Plus, we’ve got much better things to do with our time. We’re teachers remember!

At times, you may feel like contacting us privately by email. If that’s the case, just send a message to [email protected]. We’ll get it and try to reply to you as quickly as possible. We would just ask for your patience here. We’re all full time teachers with families ourselves.

For the more professionally ambitious, we hope you will consider submitting your own articles.  We will be developing some submission guidelines soon.  Until then, just email us any ideas you have.  We’re always looking for more interesting thoughts and experiences from the trenches.

In closing, we’d just like to welcome you. We Teach We Learn is designed specifically for sharing, inspiration, and professional growth. Please make yourself at home and your voice heard. You have much to share, and we have much to learn from you.