I am enjoying watching the episodes of the West Wing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_West_Wing) and right now I am in the midst of Season Four. I also enjoy taking snippets of what I learn from the show and incorporating those ideas into my life and then sharing those ideas with others.
At the end of the episode “Inauguration: Over There”, President Bartlett appoints Will Bailey to Deputy Communications Director and asks him to make a promise: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful and committed citizens can change the world.”
(This quote is originally attributed to Margaret Mead and is used with permission: http://www.interculturalstudies.org/faq.html#quote_use )
So let me take the words of Josiah "Jed" Bartlet (and the writers of the West Wing) and Margaret Mead and take the liberty to transform them just a bit for you…..
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful and committed
TEACHERS can change a School or District.”
For many of us, we are the are the ONLY ambassadors of the tools of the internet on our campus. Yet others (after many years of walking alone) might finally have found one or two comrades on your campus to walk along side with.
So whether you walk alone -- or you have one, two, three others (or more)........
Keep moving forward………whether you take giant leaps or teeny tiny baby steps. Whether your barrier is filters, or attitudes, or lack of professional development, or equipment. Whether you have tons of $$ in your budget or you have no budget at all.
Don’t give up, don’t become discouraged, and don’t cave in under pressure to do the same things the same old way.
Remember that you might be the VERY thing your school or district, and more importantly, you might be the ONLY thing your students have to help make that change.
And Never doubt the fact that you are making a difference!
