Stay the Course

Hi, I'm Stephanie, and I'm a pirate. No, not the kind of pirate that sails on ships and wears a patch! I'm a passionate educator and instructional coach who wants to create memorable experiences for learners and strives to impact the lives of learners every day. If you're still scratching your head, I highly recommend you check out the book Teach Like a Pirate by Dave Burgess. 


During the first semester I facilitated a staff book study over Teach Like a Pirate (TLAP), in which we met once per month to discuss and reflect. Yesterday our staff concluded our book study of Teach Like a Pirate. To end the book portion of the TLAP journey, we Skyped with the author and original pirate Dave Burgess! During the Skype session teachers asked questions, shared successes, and were inspired by stories from Dave's teaching and presentation experiences, and how TLAP came about. A few standout sayings from Dave include: 

"What we do as educators is powerful stuff! We are about a mightier purpose!"
"The lessons [and content you teach] they'll forget, but the experiences they'll remember forever."
"Everyday, make a conscious decision to keep your focus on having a life changing impact on students."

As with any study or workshop session, the true litmus test of how something has impacted you is whether you continue using what you've learned, or let it fade into obscurity. Dave encouraged the teachers to keep their focus on their students, and they even left with a small token in the form of a TLAP Crew Membership Card to remember their journey. I'm not sure what the teachers plan to do with their learning now that the book study is over. As for me, I plan to continue my TLAP journey through the #tlap twitter chat, joining other TLAP book studies, modeling the pirate philosophy, and developing my own spin off: Lead Like a Pirate, which is a way to incorporate the pirate principles into presentations and professional development facilitation. "Teach Like a Pirate is a way you look at your teaching and the world," was a parting statement Dave Burgess shared points at the importance of transforming your outlook. 


I look forward to what the future holds, and am excited to continue spreading the Teach Like a Pirate word!

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