Who has impacted your life? Who would you consider to be a Great Teacher? I just returned a few weeks ago from a Great Teacher Seminar. It was an amazing seminar and one constructed in a way that is very unique from your traditional seminar. We learned techniques and skills about teaching from each other not an expert brought in but those of us as practitioners as the expert. There are many ways to learn but they are only limited by our reluctance to use our own creativity. I was amazed at all of the many creative ways that educators across this great State of West Virginia have found to reach the minds of those willing to learn. The Will: it is an interesting thing. It is like the air we breathe. You can’t see it but it impacts everything around us.
I always liked the TV Series KungFu. The main character’s flashbacks to his childhood where his Master called him “Grasshopper” was especially educational. His Master was blind but compensated greatly by the use of his hearing and provided life lessons to him that impacted events in his future. Sometimes we think we can’t learn from certain individuals such as our own children. However, many times in life the lessons learned from our children are the greatest. Co-workers, supervisors, subordinates, friends, relatives, and even the world itself can be the source of education in our lives. A professional organization I belong to once sent a poster to encourage professional development courses with a slogan that stated “A Leader is dedicated to a Lifetime of Learning”. This is something I have tried to live by in my own life.
There are times in life when you must decide when or if you will advance your career with additional formal education. Now may be that time for you. Take a few minutes to explore the Master of Science in Software Engineering at WVU and learn from some of the Great Teachers in West Virginia!
Dale
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