Thought Partners - Why We Need them

I happily signed up to renew my National Board Certification in early October, excited to reflect and learn the way only the National Board process can make you do. Cut to January 1, I hadn’t started yet.

I sat down with myself for a talk and to really look at the work in front of me, and I realized I had not been procrastinating, I was frozen, completely stuck, and unable to begin. The big question - why? What had changed for me since certifying in 1998, renewing in 2008?

The answer - I had no thought partners this time. When I went through the process the the first time, there were 3 of us, who lived and breathed the process together. We bounced ideas off each other, challenged each other's thinking and practice, cried together, watched hours of video taped lesson, edit and revised, the list goes on. We learned so much from each other, that certify or not we knew we had become better teachers.

Fast forward 10ish years, and again I was a team of 3. Two of us had over that 10 years continued to push each other's thinking and professional growth and we had a new person who brought new ideas and perspective. Again we we were all in, push and supporting. I had those partners to think with and be pushed by.

I have come to learn, that as a result of the National Board process and how I process information, I have become someone who thrives on thought partners. I have got virtual partners via my Twitter and Google + PLNs. I have a thought partner whom I talk design theory with, and several collegues who I talk pedagogy and teaching methods.

Thought partners are important because they can:

Keep you moving forward during a difficult or complex time (National Board Certification)
They push and challenge your thinking - this is not always easy but necessary
They can ask the right question, often just when you need it most.
They provide not just a new perspective but their accumulated knowledge.
They provide a sounding board for new ideas to develop.

I have also realized that one thought partner is not enough. You need partners for different situations, pedagogy, events, and topics. Think about what you are passionate about, struggling with, want to explore deeper, who can you talk to? You need the right person for those times. As I mentioned I have partners who I am exploring classroom design with, I also have a partner who I just discuss new and interesting education articles/trends with. Some of these partners I see and our discussions are face to face but some are across the country and we think and push via electronic communication - Voxxer, Twitter, Google Hangouts, and email.

Where do you get thought partners? I have found many of my accidentally, like my original National Board team. Some I have sought out, some I have met through introductions from other colleagues. I have thought partners who have never met in person but have become connected with via Twitter or through a network like the National Blogging Collaborative.

Thought partners make us better and they fill our cup. They are essential if we want to grow in our profession.

I also want to thank some of the many thought partners I have had in my career, you all made me better at my craft and I hope I helped you a little as well - Mary, Delessia, Karen, Angel, Amy, Leslie, Janette, Cecily, Andrew, Meegan, Liz, Brionna, Whitney, and most importantly Ruth.