Complacency

I don't usually use this forum to wax philosophical but I had an epiphany the other day and thought I'd share. :)

I was watching Dance Moms the other day (yes, I watch Dance Moms-it's one of the only shows I watch religiously anymore, don't judge). And Abby was talking about attitude. She said something to the effect of: if you see a dancer growing professionally, it's because the dancer next to her is growing. I think that this concept applies to teaching too. If you work with teachers who really raise the bar for their students, you are likely to do this as well.

About 10 years ago, I worked at a different school. It was my first assignment and I was thrilled just to be teaching! They built another school right down the road, we lost half of our enrollment and they had to "let go" of about 10 teachers. Since I was in the last-hired category, that meant me. I am not good at interviewing (I get quiet when I'm nervous, so they think I can't handle the management part of the classroom) and went on several with no response, very discouraging.

Finally I interviewed at my current school and was ecstatic to hear I had gotten the job. When I arrived for our pre-service week, I was so impressed with the caliber of teaching that I was surrounded by. People talked about writing and math with such passion-I still use many of the ideas I learned that week. Over the years I have fought to stave off complacency. I am not satisfied with mediocre in my classroom.

Blogging has really helped with that. I have discovered so many talented people that I learn from every day. I read Twitter feeds (one of the these days I will understand how to actually post). We have unfortunately had some cutbacks in the way of pd, but I was lucky enough to attend some good ones this year. I am always looking for new technology I can implement in the classroom. Considered pursuing a Master's degree, but really just can't afford that right now.

Anyway, just thought I'd share! :)

So how do you fight off complacency?