"Why" Collaborate

"Honor the natural learning cycle" "Teachers rejuvenated" "Focus on pedagogy" These were some of the things expressed in the video "Teacher Collaboration" from the PD360 website.
PD 360 Website
The School Culture Collaboration video expressed the same type of concepts: Less Jealousy, Less Competition, Creates the whole package. One principal expressed that when teachers don't collaborate, then you may have "isolated pockets of greatness" but it won't be as the whole school. By collaborating, you will be able to get the whole package and meet each student's individual needs.

I will admit that I have had a hard time collaborating with other teachers within my department. This is due to my experience with teachers that lack the motivation to play an equal role in the collaboration. So, I, usually, am the one that seems to create the lessons and everyone just takes. I'm all for the collaboration if there are equal roles. This year has been exceptionally hard because I have a teacher that is even secretly taking lessons from my website. This would not be a problem, if this particular teacher opened the lines of communication and ASKED!! I'm always willing to share...if I can have the same possibility to borrow ideas/lessons from them as well.

However, I have been able to collaborate by using new technology tools. This year, as I embark on continuing my education in technology integration, I've been able to collaborate via internet. Along with the internet, I've been able to really take the opportunity to collaborate with others in my building that I've never worked with before this year. Technology has really helped me expand my thinking to tools that may help my students be more successful. Since I've been able to create lesson plans from others by searching internet sites, I've been able to enhance them to fit my teaching style. In return, I now know how to share my ideas with others. Hence this blog!! So, my views of collaboration are starting to change. I hope that I will be able to establish more of a collaboration within my department.