Being a team player

Since I found out my team members for the summer today, I wanted to share a reflection on being a team player. I always thought of myself as a top performer in the category of "works well with others." I find building personal  relationships very easy and teamwork to just sort of fall suit. I'm finding that I have more struggle in a team setting than I originally thought. In an exercise where I was asked to work with three others to develop a lesson vision, the team and the vision completely fell apart. All communication just sort of.. froze. It was as if we shut each other off with just a few key words. What I am realizing is that in order to work together as a team, then you need to have the right mindset and a foundational belief in teamwork.

When working with my collaborative this summer, I am going to make a real effort to maintain a mindset of open and honest communication that maintains a high level of respect for my team members. If I have a great idea, I need to share it and I need to be clear in my communication to my team members, but I need to understand that my team members have a lot to offer, too. I am going to open my mind to the belief that my teammates have great ideas and I should take advantage of everything they have to offer. On top of this, I need to realize that my team needs me to be performing efficiently, honestly, and creatively. My introvert-leaning personality is an obstacle I will have to overcome in these settings, but I believe with the right mindset and foundational belief, I can learn to work well with a team to help my students achieve. Let's face it, I can't make it through my first lesson plans, my first time setting up a classroom, and my first evaluations of students' performance without the help and support of my peers.

For my parents and friends back home...
I made it to L.A. safe and sound! I'm all set up to have a great learning experience this summer while helping a group of students achieve tremendous growth in their algebraic skills. I'm ten minutes from a beach, DOE is feeding us well, and I've met some amazing people. It's going to be a great summer!