Today I attended a meeting with a group of educators. I was on the agenda to present a program on professional development. A local dance group of girls ages 7-12 were also on the agenda to open the meeting.
Over the past 2 weeks, I had worked to get my presentation just right for these "active in the classroom" and "active out of the classroom" educators. I had researched and gathered data, designed the slide show, and even created some favors for the tables. I had invested many hours.
The young dancers were introduced one by one. After each name was called, one young lady in the group gave a "woo hoo" cheer. They performed an excellent rendition of "It's a Hard Knock Life" and then offered to teach us a dance step.
Our group of about 25 ladies of varying ages stood up to learn a "shuffle step" from the young dancers. We shuffled, stepped, smiled, and laughed as our "teachers" modeled the step for us.
I learned more about personal and professional development in the 10 minutes I spent with these young ladies than I did during the 2 weeks I spent preparing my program.
Here are a few takeaways:
Cheer for your family, friends, colleagues, students, administrators, even folks you don’t know. Everyone appreciates a "woo hoo" every now and then.
Smile often. It will improve your mood and the mood of those around you. Perhaps you’ve heard...Smiles are contagious.
Laugh at yourself and with others. "The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter." ~Mark Twain
Dance even if you don't know how. It's fun, great exercise, and makes you happy.
Learn something new everyday. Maybe you'll learn a new dance step, a new teaching strategy, or a new way to tie a scarf. Never stop learning because life never stops teaching.
We often learn more from experiences than from the best planned presentations.
