I met with an English teacher, earlier today, who is a bit of a hero of mine. We used to team teach, she knows so much about kids. I admire her for a host of reasons. She is passionate about what she does. She wants her kids to succeed and will work within the system or around the system if necessary to get it done. But most importantly to me is she sees the possibilities. She sees the possibilities in her kids and her colleagues. She also see the possibilities with technology. She is willing to go out on a limb, try new things, experiment. She knows the old saying “if you do not succeed try try again.” She is realistic and knows that a new technology or program will not be instantly mastered, you need to practice and revise. But she sees the potential, the promise.

I am very fortunate to work with people like her everyday, they make the job easy. Many teachers express this willingness to try new things, to see the potential. They catch a spark of inspiration and go with it. Returning to an earlier post this is where support for teachers needs to be given before the spark goes out and the inspiration dies and the technology or program sits unused. There needs to be support to learn, experiment and to try again. We need to encourage this spark and spirit. We need to support the teachers who know their students best, and strive for their success.