Listening to NPR today I heard a story about The Humans of New York blog, book, and author. It is startling how honest people will be and how deeply people desire to connect with other people. This man asks people for a photograph and several open ended questions which often result in very candid comments.

So if someone asked me, “What’s your deal?” Maybe they really want to know. Maybe I need to have an answer for that.

I was born to be a teacher. I moved into educational technology to amplify the impact of good teaching practices. Did you notice that? I qualified, I passed judgement on only wanting to help some teachers or practices amplify their impact. I never said that I only wanted to help some students, once you were mine I wanted to help you. But I do that with other educators.

My job is to support educators. Not to pick winners/losers. Sometimes I find myself not meeting people where they are, instead judging them by waiting until they “get” some transformative idea.

I need to personally recognize all the stages I have experienced as a learner and teacher in all the teachers I have the opportunity to help.