I deleted the ranking because it was taking too much mental capacity. It’s a mashup in my brain! These influences are seen in my teaching as a risk taker and knowing what I’m willing to risk to live my values. I am sensitive to differences and I hope I create an environment of courage and safety so that my students feel safe sharing even if their views are different from my own, tho at the same time presenting information that may plant a seed and help them see from another perspective or critically examine their own thoughts. I give them permission to change their mind (because I wish someone had done that for me way sooner).

All the folks on my list have impacted me in a positive way greatly. I have been influenced negatively, tho the biggest lesson from those negative experiences is how NOT to be – such as not to make assumptions, not to exclude people, listen more than talk, practice humility etc. In fact, I’ve learned a lot from my negative lived experiences that have influenced me in a really positive way. When I talk with my students about times in their lives when they were discouraged  (by a coach or teacher for example), it impacted them so profoundly, and to help them reflect on how important it is to be the opposite.

In the future, I’d like to rely less on power-point slides and be more power-pointless. I’m getting there, tho I do have a tendency to rely on slides to convey concepts – I think this is a limitation in my pedagogical approach. Most of the folks on my list were not people who influenced me in a classroom (this is an ahahhhaaa for me). How can I bring this positive influence into my classroom in an authentic way?