THOUGHTS FOR PRESERVICE AND BEGINNING TEACHERS (39)

One of the sins of our profession and many others is claiming ‘ownership’ of ideas without sufficiently acknowledging the genesis of the initiative. So often something claimed as belonging to a person by that person, has its origins elsewhere. That applies to information gleaned from the web but also results from the claimant not sufficiently researching to determine whether her or his idea has been tried in another place and at an earlier time.

As a long term educator, I can attest to that happening for me on quite a few occasions. Never did I protest loudly because if our children benefit, does it really matter where the idea was sourced. Nevertheless, one puts these things away in the back of one’s mind and it does impact upon the respect held for purloiners.

ALWAYS acknowledge your sources. Encourage and require children to do the same.