Inspiration of the Day: Entry #5

Inspiring others to take action is the greatest gift of all

Ideas alone don’t change our world for the better. Ideas that inspire action do.
When we share the ideas that inspire us in a way that inspires others to take action, we can build the world we imagine.
—Simon Sinek

I first came across the work of Simon Sinek a couple of years ago and was immediately drawn to it. His main message always revolves around inspiring others to take action in order to make the world a better place. I blogged about his work about a year ago, but recently a good friend of mine, Marina Gijzen, sent me a Sinek article to check out. Marina is a great educator and is moving into an administrative role next school year after 26 years of teaching in the classroom. Marina and I are always talking about books that we read and ideas that stick with us. Often times, these ideas spring from books outside the realm of education, but are so easily applicable to our lives as educators. 

The more I reflect on my role as a physical educator, the more I believe that it is my responsibility to inspire my students to take action to lead healthier lives (physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially). I often get asked by teachers in the workshops that I lead and even by my colleagues at work how I find the time and energy to maintain my website and blog. In my eyes, the answer is quite simple. The act of blogging and documenting my own teaching and learning journey inspires me to continually improve upon what I do. I find so much inspiration in sharing my work. 

Every once in a while, I’ll receive an email or 2 from educators around the world letting me know that they find value in what I share. This is the greatest reward that I could ask for. Knowing that my work is reaching other teachers and that they are putting into practice some of my teaching  and assessment ideas inspires me to continue sharing, especially considering that it is their students who benefit the most. 

There are so many great educators that have inspired me to be better at what I do and it wouldn’t be possible if they did not share their work so willingly. To these wonderful teachers, the act of giving is the greatest gift of all and inspires them to continue growing every day. The world I choose to imagine is a caring place where young people should be given every opportunity to thrive and to succeed. This is made even more possible when educators generously give to one another. Thanks for reading!