Margaret Heffernan’s viewpoint on social connectedness is such a good example and perspective of the way companies work. I loved her quote, “No idea is born fully formed”. (TED, 2015) This is so true in every aspect. It takes a social network of peers to flesh out and work on an idea until it develops and grows. She also said, “Companies don’t have ideas, people do.” (TED, 2015) It takes time to develop trust with a group or team of coworkers in order to work together and share ideas. During my many years in education, I have worked with good teams, great teams, amazing teams, and teams who made me want to quit my job. The amazing team I worked with did amazing things for our students. We developed a system for collaborating our lesson plans and resources, we shared technology ideas, and worked to share ideas so that all students were successful. This amazing team was my team when we shut down for COVID. The trust we had developed working with each other carried us through some difficult teaching experiences and allowed us to suggest new ways to reach our students in a digital environment that was new for many of us. We had developed great social cohesion.
This idea of social connectedness leads into the Growth Mindset. In order to grow as educators who are invested in the learning of our students, we must let go of the fixed mindset where we feel threatened by the success of others, feel negated by helpful feedback, and simply quit when things get too tough. When we develop a sense of trust, truly collaborate on our ideas, see feedback as a way to grow, and welcome the ideas of others to helps us build on our own ideas, then we can truly move into a Growth Mindset where we all learn from each other. As educators, once we learn to do this, we can incorporate this philosophy into our teaching and watch our students take ownership over their learning by forming collaborative learning communities. (Thomas & Brown, 2011)
TED. (2015, June 16). Margaret Heffernan: Why it’s time to forget the pecking order at work. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vyn_xLrtZaY
Thomas, D., & Brown, J. S. (2011). A New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the Imagination for a World of Constant Change. Van Haren Publishing.
Blended Elementary 