So The International Educator (TIE Online) has quite literally changed my life. You see, back in 2010, when I was attending the Principal’s Training Center (PTC) in Miami, as a very young and green Assistant Principal, I had two separate yet equally life altering experiences that empowered me to start a professional blog, as a vehicle to share my vision and thoughts with my faculty.
Kevin Bartlett, one of my educational heroes, and PTC instructor at the time, suggested over breakfast one morning that sharing my thoughts with the community would help me to find my voice, and help to shape the culture of my division. That fantastic (and scary at the time) suggestion, coupled with a gentle nudge to me, from Bambi Betts, another educational hero of mine, to deliver a “pearl” to my cohort on the final morning of that week, gave me the idea and confidence to create a weekly blog for my community titled,”Monday Musings”. Later that year I began sharing my weekly posts with TIE online, and then I quickly became one of their original bloggers, which in retrospect has been the biggest professional gift of my life.
Now, over 15 years and 300 blog posts later, TIE online has not only become the best source of professional development that I have ever encountered throughout my career, but it has in many ways become my professional home. Regarding the TIE blog, the best part of my week is not the time spent on my topic research, or the writing on Sunday mornings, or even the incredible conversations that I now have on the Blue Skies Leadership Podcast, it’s the responses and comments and feedback that I receive after I hit send. What I send out is nothing compared to what I get back…counter arguments, celebrations, related articles and videos, and saw-sharpening feedback that always leaves me learning, questioning, and seeing a topic from all sorts of varying perspectives.
Sharing out my thoughts over the years on TIE Online has made me a better person and leader, and it’s given me the wisdom to understand that there is always more that I need to learn, particularly as the world changes and the educational paradigm continues to shift. The TIE platform has allowed me to continuously grow, and develop, and never stop learning… a life and career altering gift indeed.
It’s hard to quantify how much TIE and TIE Online have given to me over the years, and honestly, I am grateful beyond words. They have given me new professional opportunities, an incredibly large and global professional network, and maybe most importantly, they have given me my voice. I want to take this opportunity to publicly thank the entire organization, the beautiful people who have been a part of the TIE family over the years, and of course, the visionary leadership, who have courageously steered the ship and kept us all unwaveringly focused on what is best for kids. Finally, I want to thank you TIE, for the support and opportunities that you have always, always given to educators all across the globe.
Congratulations TIE on a legacy leaving 40 years, and for changing the international school world for the better in truly immeasurable ways. I feel deeply honored to have been with you through a good part of this journey, and tremendously grateful that you welcomed me so openly into your family. Here’s to another 40 years ahead, and to many more decades of leading the way forward, for all of us. Thank you 🙂
