Looking Back on My #OneWord2019: Create
It was indeed a year of creation — content, learning, and relationships.
It’s been 347 days since I wrote about my One Word for 2019. At the time, I had only recently come on board the #OneWord train, finally won over by Jon Gordon, author of One Word That Will Change Your Life, and other education thought leaders that I deeply admire.
My One Word for 2019 was Create. The idea of creation is powerful and profound to me, not only because I believe we were designed for creative activities, but because we live in a world of massive consumption.
It’s in acts of creation — not consumption — that we form relationships, build meaning, and contribute value and service in our world. There is deep satisfaction to be found in creative acts that is generally absent from acts of consumption.
Create: Content, Learning, and Relationships
I broke down my One Word into three smaller themes. I wanted to create new content, create new learning, and create new relationships, and I’m pleased to say that I’ve gone a long way toward each of those goals.
Create New Content
One of my goals was to publish more blog posts this year, and that definitely happened. I published 30 blog posts in 2018, and by July of 2019 I had passed that mark. I’ll have to complete a careful review to be sure of the final tally of posts (and there are still a couple of weeks to go), but I’m calling my blog activity in 2019 a win.
Another goal was to create more vlog content. Vlogging hasn’t really happened in the form I hoped it would — at least, not on YouTube and not with any sort of regularity. But it did happen a handful of times on Twitter, LinkedIn, and other platforms, and it was a really fun experience every time.
In one example of a vlogging experiment, I simply shared from my practice and spoke directly to educators. The video was well-received, and if you believe Twitter’s numbers, it was viewed thousands of times. This is the sort of content I eventually want to bring to YouTube — more on that in another blog post. At any rate, I’m calling this goal a partial success.
Of course, the single piece of content that required the most blood, sweat, and tears from me this year (and yes, there were several real tears shed), was my Master’s thesis. Titled An Analysis of an Educational Podcast and Its Impacts on Professional Practice, it numbered 61 pages in length. Although my research related directly to my passion project, the Teachers on Fire podcast, it was an exhausting and at times discouraging process to complete it. Most importantly, however, the completion of this paper satisfied the last requirements for my MEdL (Master’s of Educational Leadership) degree. A huge, huge win in my personal and professional life.
Create New Learning
The successful creation of my thesis paper was a huge win in 2019, but I had other learning goals for the year as well.
In 2018, I finished reading ten books, so for 2019 I set my sights on 15. As of the time of this reading, I’ve completed eight books, so it doesn’t look like that goal will be reached.
Still, I’ve finished eight books. And counting. That should count for at least a partial win.
A quick side note here. I know I can quickly accelerate my book reading pace if I jump on the audiobook wagon, but with very few exceptions, I haven’t done it. I’m too much of a nerd to give up my curated highlights!
Other goals that fell under this heading of learning included plans to introduce new learning experiences to my students and to push myself into stretching learning environments. I’m declaring unqualified wins here as well.
In January, I launched a podcast for my 8th graders called Gr8 Expectations (credit to my colleague, Riley Dueck, for the clever name idea). Although I feel like I have yet to fully utilize this platform to amplify my students’ voices and share their learning with the world, we’ve gotten a good start.
I just published our twelfth episode last week, and the ideas for future episode topics just keep coming. Most importantly, this is new territory for almost all of my students: most have never learned to express themselves in strictly audio formats and are not used to the idea of their ideas being shared and consumed by authentic audiences. Another win.
My own learning and growth could take an entire blog post in itself. Professionally, I spoke at my first ignite-style education event, addressed 350 students and teachers about growth mindset, and improved my assessment and feedback practices in the classroom.
I also completed a staff book study on The Ten Mindframes for Visible Learning by John Hattie, following that up with Hacking School Discipline by Nathan Maynard and Brad Weinstein. Both books have shaped my thinking and inspired my practice immensely.
Again, there’s a ton to say about everything I’ve learned this year, and I’m sure I could write about it for several blog posts. But I’m very happy with the learning created in 2019.
Create New Relationships
Today, I am such a connected educator that I actually find it painful to think about reverting to my previous (disconnected) state. I mean, I love my colleagues dearly, and I learn a ton from seeing them in action and hearing their ideas. The importance of those relationships cannot be overstated.
But Twitter. And Instagram. And blogs. And podcasts. And Voxer. And LinkedIn. Wow.
These platforms have been absolutely phenomenal in terms of the connections I’ve made with educators outside of my building and across North America. I chat, speak, and tweet with these professional friends virtually every day, sharing ideas, encouragement, and support.
My @TeachersOnFire presence on these platforms grew significantly in 2019, and mutual connections now number in the thousands. That’s somewhat affirming. But what really matters are the relationships — the real-life connections that result in personal and professional friendships. I’m very thankful and consider myself blessed to have formed many of these meaningful connections in 2019.
Looking Back on CREATE
The year wasn’t perfect, and I didn’t hit every one of my Create goals for 2019. But there is a ton to celebrate here: blogs, vlogs, podcasts, my MEdL thesis and degree, books, professional growth, speaking, and relationships.
Create led to some legendary growth and experiences in 2019. What lies ahead for 2020? I’ll be giving that some serious thought in the final weeks of 2019.
