Most Read Blog Posts of 2017

Blogging is a great way to reflect and share my learning about education, self-regulation and other topics. Putting my ideas out there into the world wide web is a bit unnerving - will anyone read this? Will anyone respond? Will my thinking resonate with someone? Will it cause them to rethink or reflect on their own practice?

My main goal is not to generate a huge readership for the blog. I like to use writing as a way to think my way through things and decided why not share my wonderings and writings.  But it is gratifying to see the readership numbers grow when a post really resonates for some reason. So thank you to everyone who took a moment to read my blog posts and especially to those who responded.

My top three most-read posts for 2017 were:


3. Kindergarten Graduation Alternatives  It's interesting to me that this post was so widely read when it probably has a very narrow audience of kindergarten teachers and ECEs.  I shared several research articles about why kindergarten graduation is not developmentally appropriate and provided a range of alternatives that are more child-friendly. I'm not saying don't celebrate the end of the school year, but let's find a way to do it that is appropriate for five year olds.
Feedback on this post was divided.  Some people were so thankful to have research and ideas to share with their colleagues and administrators to help them in their quest to move on from kindergarten graduation ceremonies.  And others shared their belief that kindergarten graduation is something that parents and administrators expect and enjoy. That conversation took place as responses to my post of this blog on Facebook in the Ontario Kindergarten Teachers group so it wasn't captured on the blog.

2. Self-regulation: Not just for kids So much of what I read about self-regulation talks about how teachers and parents can help to teach students/children how to use self-regulation.  But what I've found is that learning more about self-regulation has changed my own behaviour and my understanding of those days when my self-control seems to have deserted me.  In this post, I shared an example of how my husband lent me his calm when I was too overwhelmed by stressors during a very long trip.  I had so many responses to this post that I wrote a follow-up post that generated just as much traffic.  If I combined the two posts, they would be my most read topic.

And the most read post of 2017 on the Opening Doors for Learning blog:
1. ETFO Kindergarten Conference - April 2017. I used Storify to summarize and share two days of fantastic learning at the ETFO Kindergarten Conference in Niagara Falls. I was sad when I got an email just a few weeks ago, letting me know that Storify is no longer going to be available after the May 2018.    Time to find a new strategy. What are you going to be using instead of Storify in the future?

Happy 2018 to everyone!  Thanks again for reading these posts, responding, sharing, retweeting and letting me know that you're out there!

Image from PRpeople.blog

The Power of Saying 'No'

When I was thinking about my One Word for 2017 I decided on 'yes' as a reminder to myself to say yes to opportunities and I wrote about in several posts - Saying Yes,  One Word Challenge, and Stay Afraid.  But after having a few weeks to reflect on it, I decided that Yes doesn't accurately reflect my newfound philosophy of challenging myself to stretch out of my comfort zone and try new things that, in the past, I would have avoided due to my own fear.

After reading an article in Psychology Today by Azadeh Aalai I realized that always saying yes isn't really what I want to do.  There is power in saying no to requests and opportunities that aren't a good fit for me or that come at an inopportune time. She writes that "when you're stuck, stressed or resentful a firm  'no' can open up your life." 

In my post yesterday, Retirement Buffet I noted that there are so many things that I can say yes to now that I'm retired - creative endeavours, going to the gym, taking courses, writing, and presenting at conferences.  I also want to spend more time with my girls, my dad, my extended family and of course, travelling with my husband.  But in order to say yes to all of those things, I have to say no to some things or I'll be stretching myself too thin and not enjoying any of them.

So instead of yes I've decided that my One Word for 2017 will be stretch. I'm stretching myself outside of my comfort zone academically by submitting writing proposals to journals and publishers and submitting presentation proposals to conference committees.  I am stretching myself physically with a renewed gym membership and I've already signed up for a 10K in the spring and the Detroit International Half Marathon in October 2017.  And I'm making time to stretch myself creatively with new things like knitting and sewing.  I may even start painting again!

How is your One Word for 2017 working for you so far? If you'd like more information about OneWord2017, you can search Twitter or follow the links in this post. 

Top 3 Posts

Using the number of views as the criteria, the top three blog posts on Opening Doors for Learning for 2016 are:

Remembering Paul

Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda

Interview with Doug Peterson

Thanks to everyone who took time to read my blog and for providing feedback via blog comments as well as on Twitter and Facebook.  Looking forward to sharing more with everyone in 2017!

What's in a name?

Previously this blog was titled Leading In Education but, after some reflection, I have changed the name to Opening Doors for Learning.  Why?

When I started this blog, my intended audience was other 'leaders' in education - teachers, ECEs, librarians, administrators, professors - anyone who guides and supports others in their learning.  But that hasn't really captured what my learning has been about and the title didn't reflect where I am currently in my learning and practice.

Since retirement, I've spent time volunteering in a Grade 3 classroom and I'm learning so much from the teacher and from the students.  Recently, I've been invited to participate in a collaborative inquiry project with some kindergarten teachers who are looking at ways to support Syrian refugee children who have arrived in their classes.  I've also been taking online courses for my Doctorate program through the Western University (formerly the University of Western Ontario) and learning so much from the other participants in my classes as well as from the professors and the readings.

In addition, I'm taking an online course on Self-Regulation through the MEHRIT centre and learning so much about self-regulation in the five domains.  Again, learning from the videos, the reading, the supplementary materials and discussion with other participants has been amazing.

So Opening Doors for Learning is about other educators opening their doors, deprivatizing their practice and allowing me and others into their classrooms to learn alongside them and their students.  It's about opening our minds to the idea that we don't have it all figured out and that there is always something new to learn.  And the door also represents that this new learning may lead to someplace new and unexpected.  We never know what might be behind the next door.

(image from http://antiquesdiva.com/antiques-diva/a-door-to-provence)

Leading and Learning in the 21st Century

Starting this blog has lead me to reflect on the different ways we learn and lead learning in the 21st century.  When I began teaching over 25 years ago, I could choose to attend after school workshops, full day workshops with supply coverage or I could attend night classes or summer courses at the local university.  My co-learners were people from my own board and the instructors were often from our board as well.  If you were really fortunate, you might have funding from your board or your union to attend a conference off site with educators from other boards.

How things have changed!  Last night I was online doing a group presentation with three colleagues from my Doctorate of Education program at Western University.  One of my colleagues teaches in Toronto, one in Tanzania and one in the United Arab Emirates.   We meet via Skype several times and used Google Docs to work on our assignment.  Unfortunately for them, we were presenting at 8:30 pm EST which was 4:30 am for one person and 3:30 am for another.  I guess I can't complain about being tired after work and having to present when they both had to set the alarm and get up in the wee hours of the morning to attend.

All the comforts of home while attending a live streamed meeting for the 2015 EdD class.  

Teaching online for Queens University also allows me to connect with educators from across the province of Ontario and beyond.  It's been great to get the perspective of teachers in IB programs around the globe, teachers working at remote Northern villages, teachers in small rural schools and teachers with diverse populations in urban schools.  Sometimes I think I learn more by teaching courses than the students!