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More Awesome with Every No

This is about sharing the awesome. We've all got some awesome to share.

This year I start my thirteenth year of teaching.  Three schools and over a thousand students later I think that I have learned a thing or two about how to teach. And I am always happy to share what I have learned.  This year (as I may have mentioned a time or two before in earlier posts) I started at school number three.  In one year I think I grew more as an educator than I did in the previous 5 years.  So, I have to share all this new found knowledge.  Right?

Sharing step one: Start a blog.  All the cool kids are doing it.  Helps to reflect on my practice and share a little bit of my awesome with the world.

Sharing step one accomplished (or at least in the process of being accomplished). I've actually enjoyed blogging.  And, even though I say I don't care how many people read it because it's only for me (blah, blah blah), I get all giddy every time the number of views on a post goes up (though I am desperately hoping it's not just my husband clicking on it again and again like my own personal click farm).

Sharing step two: submit proposals to conferences to share my awesome with other educators in a more formal setting. So here's how that's gone: Sent one proposal and it got accepted. Yay!! First one right off the bat.  Wow.  I must really be as awesome as I think I am.  But then I started to learn more about the conference.  They will not waive the conference fee, no discount on room, they will not provide anything (not even a projector or screen and they said I probably can't project on the walls because they are too dark) and it's really far away.  So, I have to travels hundreds of miles to do a service for them and I get absolutely nothing in return.  Ok, so maybe I will be passing on that one. And maybe I should slow down on the self adulation.  This conference may not be as desirable as one would hope.  But they'll be others, right?

Well, so far, no.  Proposal 2 garnered a no thank you but we may be interested for next season. I had a moment of "I've been to some of your workshops and this one would be better than several of those" but I had to put the petty aside and tell myself that there will be another opportunity. Maybe they were looking for something I wasn't offering.

Proposal 3 was also a no thanks.  I thought this one would be a long shot but probably the most relevant to my career.  I was definitely bummed about this rejection but I was able to get some feedback that will help me tweak the proposal for next year.  So, not a total loss.

Right now I'm working on a possible Proposal 4.  Maybe if I keep plugging away my awesome will get even awesomer and everyone will want to share in it.

So, the moral of the story is that I still think I've got the awesome going on but I'm going to have to tweak it share it with the world.  I can't let the failures get me down.  I have to keep reminding myself that I am new to this sharing with my colleagues. And maybe I'll get there eventually.  Maybe, someday, people will be contact me to present at conferences.  Maybe they won't. And that's OK too.  But at least I'm trying. Gotta keep on keepin' on.

Share your awesome with the world.  And thanks for letting me share mine.


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