COflipalicious

I have a confession to make...I have become a Twitter stalker.  A few months back I saw a lot of teachers that I have mad respect for start throwing around the #coflip hashtag.  I figured I missed some relevant discussion that talked about what #coflip was, but after looking back, I couldn't find anything...that was where my stalking began.

For weeks, I kept seeing #co-this and #co-that with no explanation.  Finally, in a moment of weakness I finally asked.  WTF is #coflip!  As it turns out, #coflip represents collaboration...amongst teachers...without fear of being judged, laughed at, or made to feel inadequate.

To me, collaboration has always been an important part of my teaching.  I've never been the teacher to shut my door, and I certainly don't have a problem sharing my ideas and input, so the idea of collaboration amongst teachers isn't anything new to me.  That being said, after reading Andrew Thomasson's post about a little project we've been working on, I gained some new perspective.  He mentions 3 reasons teachers are afraid to collaborate.  The first 2 aren't me, per se, but the 3rd I have certainly experienced.  He talks about being afraid to collaborate because you're afraid your ideas aren't good enough.  I think that for rookie teachers, this certainly has a ring of truth.  I felt that as a rookie flipper...still do at times.

One of the best choices I've made, however, is not letting that self-consciousness stop me from reaching out to others.  I freely admit that I don't have everything figured out...and I probably won't anytime soon.  What I do know is that by collaborating with other teachers (my flipping partner and my tweeps), I have become a better teacher...no doubt about it.