Education, in some areas is changing and, if it’s not, it needs to be. I firmly believe that in order for this to happen successfully, we teachers need to be the driving force. No longer can we sit back and have change happen from the top down. Instead change needs to happen from the ground up, at the grass roots, from us.
This type of leadership and motivation will come the more empowered we feel. And to be empowered, we need to work together and get the professional development that is necessary for us to teach in this new era of education.
I turn again to Daniel Pink a guru in the field of business management and motivation. In this video he talks extensively about motivation.
If you have 20 minutes, than this is worth your while. If you have a shorter time, fast forward 12 minutes in and listen to the end. Even though Pink talks about the business world his ideas transfer seamlessly to education in two ways: 1) We are professionals! 2) We educate the professionals of the future! These are two things we can never lose sight of.
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Elizabeth Peterson has devoted her life to education and to reaching out to other teachers who want to remain inspired. Mrs. Peterson teaches fourth grade in Amesbury, Massachusetts and is the host of www.theinspiredclassroom.com. She holds an M.Ed. in Education, “Arts and Learning” and is currently enrolled in a C.A.G.S. program through Plymouth State University with a focus in “Arts Leadership and Learning.” Elizabeth is author of Inspired by Listening, a teacher resource book that includes a method of music integration she has developed and implemented into her own teaching. She teaches workshops and courses on the integration of the arts into the curriculum, leads an arts integration PLC (PLaiC) and is adjunct faculty for PSU. Mrs. Peterson believes there is a love of active, integrated learning in all children and from their enthusiasm, teachers can shape great opportunities to learn. 
