Be a Difference Maker

In this world ridden with fast-paced change, high stress factors, and issues of outcome, productivity, and accountability, difference makers are the thought leaders, the champions, the mentors, and the guides to organizational and systemic change. There is much buzz in social media about the role of leaders and the importance of affecting change. Positive thinking, open-minded leaders push beyond the norm, the comfort zone. This poem is dedicated to those who are change agents and those who wish to make a difference in this 21st century world. They are those who dare to be the game changers who do not settle for the status quo in order to positively impact their professional world.

Who are these 21st Century difference makers? 

Difference makers are 
  ordinary human beings, 
  true to themselves, 
  ethical individuals who 
  are not hindered by egocentrism.
They are the men and women
  who feel the rhythm of life's balance,
  the pulse beat of positivity,
  and the energy of serving others.

How do they engage in their daily tasks?

They live in the present, 
  envisioning avenues of change
  to move gingerly forward,
  always with reflective action.
Creatively they problem solve
  in the midst of mild chaos
  or internal discord.
They lead with clarity of thought
  and model collaborative energy.
Lifework and teamwork are 
  promoted and encouraged.

Why do we need difference makers?

Difference makers are 
  the change agents, 
  the thought provocateurs,
  the prophets of positivity,
  the guides to tomorrow,
  and the leaders of today.
They are strong individuals 
  who do not stand in 
  waters of mediocrity, 
  polluted by the 
  stagnation of negativity.
They dare to be courageous,
  leaders with a growth mindset,
  promoting positive thinking
  in the workplace.
They are the purposeful managers,
  the visionaries who understand 
  the function of missteps   
  with reflective action
  as the steppingstones on 
  the path to successful change.

What makes a difference maker stand out as a courageous champion of change?

Grit and resilience-
strength of character-
vision, creative problem solving- 
communication, and collaboration- 
these ingredients must exist
amongst other traits.
The recipe can't be botched.
These skills and traits are necessary 
for learners to lead and transfer
knowledge as they assess,
apply, and move forward on 
the road to applicable change. 

Why is there a pressing urgency for a flank of difference makers?

Difference makers are 
  needed to change the tides of
  fear, status quo, and comfort zones.
   ©CVarsalona, 2019

Difference makers are growing in numbers 

across the globe

and across occupations.

Stand tall as one of many individuals

who has the power to make a difference!

This post is written in response to two challenges:

• Day 18 of the March Slice of Life Story Challenge at Two Writing Teachers.

• Heidi Mordhorst's Forward...March Ch Poetry Challenge at my juicy little universe with the word botch as today's word (the "ch" words, change and chaos, are woven into the poem).

Agency

As connected educators who wish to make a difference in the lives of our students, we must become guides on the side and facilitators of learning and lean in to model and promote effective classroom learning by:

• Establishing a tone of positivity from the start of the school year
• Designing student-friendly norms and protocols to create a culture of trust in our learning spaces
• Gradually releasing responsibility for learning to our students
• Embracing change that will effectively impact teaching and learning

But we cannot stand alone. 

It takes momentum and support from a community of educators and parents working together to assist students in becoming meaning makers of their own learning. 

It is our calling as educators to empower our learners to take risks, see failure as a steppingstone to success, collaborate openly, explore inquiry paths, and understand that choice leads to amplified voice. 

So what is it that we need to do immediately to transform the landscape of learning? How do we bring about positive change in a world of flux?

What road will you take to be a difference maker this year?

How will you comfortably create a culture of trust to influence students to become agents of their own learning?

As Eric Sheninger says, "Student agency is about empowering kids to own their learning (and school) through greater autonomy. It is driven by choice, voice, and advocacy." 

I have been playing with the septercet form of poetry (a poem consisting of any number of three-line stanzas, each with seven syllables) that Michelle H. Barnes encouraged writers to post at Today's Little Ditty Challenge last month. I decided to compose my thoughts on agency using the septercet form. Margaret Simon asked the #DigiLitSunday blogging community to write on this topic two weeks ago. You can access others thoughts here.

Slice of Life (#sol16) is featured at Two Writing Teachers each Tuesday. Since I am finishing the design of my Summerscapes Gallery, I will offer this piece as my thought for the week.

*************************************************

Teachers skillfully hone craft

empowering students on,

closer toward independence.

Children journey with teachers

on inquiry paths of choice

as agents of their learning.

So stamina is needed 

by learners who seek knowledge

to become meaning makers.

Charge for difference makers:

Create a culture of trust.

Positivity spreads fast.

Charge for owners of learning:

Step beyond your comfort zone

take risks and own your learning.

©CV, 2016

*************************************************

Write On!

GREETING
Struck by the grayness of the winter sky but bolstered by the warmth of thoughts received, I bring a message of gratitude to all those who write from their heart. As host of Poetry Friday this week, I send out thanks to the writers who are contributing to this joyful Poetry Round-up. 

POETS AS ADVOCATES
During these past weeks, many voices from the Poetry Friday community have rallied behind causes and brought joy to life through verse. Poetic words have flowed from spaces of hope, advocacy, and social justice out into the world of social media, of which I am grateful. I applaud the poetic difference makers who feel the rhythm of life's balance, the pulse beat of positivity, and the energy emanating from bringing words to life. Your voices light up the page and screen, creating a tapestry of thought in a community of trust. Write on!

SIMPLE PRACTICE
When Mother Nature sends us gray days and the world is off balance due to dissonance and tension, flip negative vibrations. Engage in a practice that allows hope to finds its way back into our lives. 

We Thank Thee
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.

FOND WISHES
I wish all the writers who join this Poetry Friday round-up, peace and joy. Continue to send your voices out into the world in poetic streams. As difference makers, your words will brighten children's hearts, illustrate the beauty of living things, soften the dissonance, and turn gray days around.

heartfelt words of joy

fill spaces of life's journey

poetic wings soar

©CV, 2017

POETRY FRIDAY ROUND-UP

Joyfully submit your Poetry Friday offering below, as I will submit mine to #haikuforhealing.

Celebrating Passionate Educators

Teachers are difference makers who impact learning on a daily basis.

This week, I was fortunate to work and collaborate with a varied number of passionate educators. The energy level of the professionals made focusing on best practices to power up student-centered literacy a joyful experience. 

It all started on Sunday when I called in my NCTE 16 Roundtable team to a GHO. While the technology was a bit spotty on my end, we engaged in a lively conversation in real time. Needless to say, the team (see below) is excited to deliver a passionate presentation to teachers who will join our roundtable discussions in Atlanta, Georgia in a few weeks.

The next day, Halloween, was filled with educational treats, not tricks. I facilitated a full day of professional development for a group of teachers who created passion-filled, engaging inquiry-based lessons leading students to become "reading fit" for life. The following images were tweeted during the session to showcase the passion of educators on #CelebrateMonday. Using the hashtag, #Trendthepositive on #CelebrateMonday is a way to publicize teacher expertise, enthusiasm, and engagement.

Halloween night was filled with candy and tweeting treats. I moderated #NYEDChat that included engaged educators participating in a lively conversation with Starr Sackstein and Connie Hamilton, authors of Hacking Homework. The transcript of the convo can be accessed here.

I followed up these experiences with two more professional development sessions. Each group of teachers was a joy to work with. They dug right into ways to energize their literacy practices while promoting student voice through choice options.

Teachers engaged in a Chalk Talk experience, silent conversation on paper to be able to offer a similar experience to their students.

In order to impact teaching and learning, focus is needed. Educators who are difference makers make it a practice to focus in on ways to ignite wonder and inspire students on inquiry paths. I celebrate their passion, energy, and perseverance while focusing in on collaborative protocols to foster change. 

This post is dedicated to two enthusiastic and impassioned groups of educator blogging communities. Please join Ruth Ayres' Celebrate This Week to hear from Ruth and the community on a week of positive celebrations. I am also joining Margaret Simon at DigiLit Sunday where the topic this week is focus. Focusing on impacting teaching and learning by honing craft and amplifying voice is an important mission for me. 

 

Teachers skillfully hone craft

empowering students on,

closer toward independence.

(You can access the rest of the septercet poem I crafted here.)

Be the Digital Change

The digital revolution is far more significant than 

the invention of writing or even printing.

~Douglas Engelbart

Whether you agree or disagree with the above thought, it is true that the digital revolution has changed the face of classrooms across the world. 

The information age has caused multitudes of messages to be carried across the internet at a fast pace. No longer do learners need to spend hours searching for information. Feedback is instantaneous but with that opportunity comes the responsibility of being a respectful digital citizen and meaning maker. Using social media and technology appropriately is a call to action.

What is needed for digital change?

1. Active, passion-filled learning spaces where knowledge is shared and created on a daily basis  
2. Respectful, collaborative communities of ethical digital citizens flattening the walls of learning
3. Outreach across the globe via technology
4. A chorus of voices united in purpose as creative problem solvers, decision makers, and innovators
5. Continual professional learning opportunities/professional development to seamlessly integrate technology with other subject areas

End Result for digital change: 

Students become owners of their learning, meaning makers, and collaborators as they connect their voices with others across the globe.

Where do we begin?

The classroom is the learning place for digital citizenship. Laying the groundwork for students to be explorers of their own learning is key. But first, the teacher's voice needs to be heard as the heartfelt model of responsible citizenry. As teacher's voice crescendos, student voice follows. 

What do teachers who are digital change agents do differently?

Teachers who embrace the growth mindset become the guides on the digital journey of learning, discarding the old school image of sage on the stage. They should:

• Passionately engage students in active learning environment
• Provide choice
• Carefully evaluate resources and gather the best in their literacy toolboxes
• Encourage voluminous reading and writing opportunities
• Create digital portfolios and containers to hold student work
• Send student voice across the globe to real world audiences 
• Celebrate learning

Ultimately teachers "help students think and act at a local, global, and digital level simultaneously". ~Marialice Curran, co-founder of DigCitSummit

Is the learning only in the hands of teachers?

Parents are stakeholders in their children's education. Therefore, they also need to monitor the digital horizon to provide safe passage for their children. As the first teachers, they have the opportunity to provide language-rich environments. Curiosity and creativity are nurtured in households where collaborative talking time and reading are honored. Parents who are invested in early language development provide a basic foundation in literacy that is continued in the school environment. 

How can student voice be promoted in this digital age?  

For student voice to rise, cultures of trust, engagement, and innovation are needed. In these safe, risk-taking environments collaborative conversations develop as students become voluminous readers across genres. Background knowledge and information gathered lead students to not only notice more about topics of interest but wonder as they follow multiple pathways to discover answers to questions posed. Diverse perspectives broaden, ideas flow, and voice rises in both oral and written forms. Teachers who facilitate authentic learning during project-based activities, genius hour, makerspace, 20% time, and passion projects allow students to become explorers of their own learning who share their work school-wide and with local and global communities.

Call to Action:

Adults have a responsibility to students to provide them with access to a world where learning is about being creators of information as opposed to merely being consumers. Now is the time for all stakeholders, schools, parents, community members, and students to join hands and become part of the #digcit revolution for a positive digital change in the world of learning. 

Beyond the influx of information,

journeys of passionate noticings evolve

within rich, authentic learning environments

of collaborative conversation and trusting relationships.

Inside passion-filled learning spaces

teacher facilitators nurture, guide, and lead

youth through avenues of complex information

 to create innovative ideas built on collaboration and choice. 

From these quarters authentic voices rise,

depths of knowledge shared beyond classrooms,

regional walls flattened, and diverse thoughts sent 

out across the universe so new horizons can be reached.

It is within collaborative communities that learners

evolve as articulate and purposeful difference makers

who bravely cross the digital expanse to be the digital change.

Support all learners's potential in a wold of unlimited possibilities!

©Carol Varsalona, 2015

As part of a growing community of connected educators and a member of the #DigCitSummitUK team, I support the efforts of William Jenkins, Digital Citizenship Summit UK organizer, to bring an awareness of digital citizenship and student voice to a global level. 

http://www.digcitsummit.com/

PLEASE NOTE:

On January 18, 2016, #NYEDChat will feature Marialice Curran, co-founder of the Dig Cit Summit and co-organizer of #DigCitSummitUK, as the guest host to lead our convo, Be the Digital Change. Join us!

Courageous Conversation

Last week in Boston at the International Literacy Association 2016 Conference, a courageous conversation ensued and created a ripple effect with far-reaching effects. I was fortunate to be present when my educator friend, Cornelius Minor, opened an impromptu forum with three simple questions. 

Why did you come? How do you feel? How do you hope to feel?

All present were encouraged to engage in an open conversation on racial relations to help us grapple with the troubling issues of the times. As reflective educators, we listened, partnered to discuss the bystander/upstander concept, and pondered ways to bring the conversation to students on an academic level. The discussion centered on a positive perspective so that trust was built among educators from around the states. During the short time together, a community evolved. 

After the first reflective pause, Sara Ahmed's statement, "Be vigilant of our own biases," prompted me to complete a quick recheck of my past actions and how I have dealt with the issues. I reflected on the amount of racial tensions multiplying throughout the world, leading to a disregard of kindness to fellow man. I thought about the word hate and how it has led to violence and the uprooting of seeds of love. I questioned why there is general unrest and a sense of disconnectedness in the world.

Why did I come to Cornelius Minor's session at ILA 16? 

I came to hear the conversation that would push me out of my comfort zone. How did I feel? To say the least, I felt uneasy. On the other hand, I felt empowered to have a voice in a conversation with thoughtful educators. What I hoped to feel was a sense of balance when I left the room. 

During the courageous conversation, positivity flowed as we grappled with the issues and our emotions. We confronted the uncomfortable and connected as a body of collective practitioners. We provided avenues to explore, knowing that much needs to be accomplished. 

From this conversation, words started spinning in my head. A draft of a poem recording my impressions of the powerful interaction at ILA 16 evolved. I listened, wove words together, and created. Dr. Stephen Peters' words, "Courage and fear cannot co-exist," resounded with me and brought closure to my thoughts. 

From a powerful ninety-minute happening, the following thoughts were designed into a digital composition.

When I left the room, I was almost speechless. The effect of connected educators trying to make sense of the unthinkable stayed with me as a hope for future conversations with family, friends, and educators. One week later, I am still thinking and engaging in face-to-face and Twitter conversations on the issue of man's inhumanity to man. 

What can be done to stop fear from rearing its head and breaking down walls? 

Times are changing. No longer can we skirt the issues of world politics and biases that lead mankind to become involved in destructive outcomes. I believe educators stand on the precipice of change. Connected together, we can:

1. Embrace change
2. Build cultures of trust in active learning classrooms 
3. Engage students in courageous conversations, allowing all voices to be heard and all identities addressed 
4. Provide the open space for students to explore their feelings through writing 
5. Continue grappling with tough issues as a body of practitioners

It is my hope that as connected educators and colleagues, we can band together to raise our voices as a collective body of thoughtful practitioners of life. We have the power to make a difference in a world ridden with disconnect. It our voices that can be heard and our voices that will impact our students' and children's lives. We can become the difference makers that will bring about change.

International Women's Day_SOLSC 8

On International Women's Day 2020, 

 I pause to celebrate the Voices of all women around the globe!

It is a quiet winter morning in my neighborhood but in the outside world, there is a loud outcry. The #EachforEqual hashtag is making its way throughout social media to bring awareness of this International Women's Day. 

It is still unfathomable to me that all women around the globe are not being recognized as equal partners in society. After all, it is the 21st century and the women's movement for equality has been in the news since the 19th century. I am posing as citizens of the world, we become difference makers, united in our mission to recognize women as change agents and influential models for a younger generation. Each small effort to do so will bring us closer to understanding and promoting the Each for Equal movement.

I encourage you to take 3 minutes to view the video of the history of women's rights and spread the news that International National Women's Day should be celebrated beyond today. 

Teachers, please consider using the above video and the IWD hashtag during Women's History Month as an informed call-to-action activity.

Each year since March 2015, I engage in Two Writing Teacher's Annual Slice of Life Story Challenge. 

Slicing allows me to ponder life, literacy, and learning, capturing small moments poetically

through writing, photography, and digital art. 

Day 7 of 31 days of writing March Slice of Life 2020 Story Challenge

at Two Writing Teachers.

Teachers Impact Learning

As I sat at the Labor Day barbecue last night, I thought about all the New York City and Long Island teachers who were preparing to open their classrooms for a new year of learning. I recalled my conversation with a young friend who was entering her second year of teaching. All the fresh ideas and excitement of the new year were in front of her and summer thoughts were drifting into memories. 

Although I am not in the classroom daily, I thought about my journey as a consultant and the teachers who would become my learners. Ideas floated solidifying my feeling about teachers as awakeners and activators of learning. Michael Fullan who writes on change theory, talks about teachers as both learners and change agents, powerful forces within classrooms who continually impact student thinking. 

At the beginning of the school year, all teachers offer a gift to their learners, internal lights that ignite the flames of learning. Filled with the passion for affecting learning, the teachers become the difference makers, reflective and observant practitioners who build cultures of trust for harmonious relationships to grow and thrive. With their literacy toolkits in hand and thoughtful listening and observation skills, they craft teachable moments to invite learners to notice, wonder, explore, question, and discover additional paths to meaning making. Passionate hearts, creativity, and careful planning are essential resources they have to create powerhouses of learning where students are empowered to ignite their own learning lives. 

As activators of learning, teachers become the stewards of change and guides on the journey. The following eduinspiration is offered as a beginning-of-the-year call to action. 

My wish for all educators is to enjoy the journey to creating lasting change for learners. It is a certainty that teachers' active interactions within their spaces of learning impact students' literary lives. 

Please visit Two Writing Teachers for the Tuesday Slice of Life.