CALIBK12

I have subscribed to CALIBK12 for years now and love the collegiality of the group. Most of the discussion threads provide insite on current topics, recently: scanners, inventory, the Web 2.0 online class (I'm trying to do it, we are still in school) the thought thread about standards for staffing. As our association has been advocating for an increase of LMT staffing in Long Beach, this thread was of particular interest to me. It gave me specifics to share with our superintendent Thursday, adding substance to the discussions. I am thankful to be a member of the listserve and do post occasionally. When our grandson was born his dad wanted to get him a series of books he had read as a fourth grader, all he remembered was that (1) he loved them (2) the boy's had his name, Tom (3) he was like McGyver. I had no idea and posted the clues on CALIB. I had the answer from all over the state. The Great Brain series. It was so cool. I gave them to him for Christmas, and baby Gavin has already heard them. This thrills me as I firmly believe reading to your child 20 minutes a day from birth through foreever does remarkable things to develop their brains.

A fun side benefit of reading the listserve is that you get to know the people who post. Often, you will recognize them at a conference by their name tag and place a face to a login. It is an ice breaker, and people appreciate being known for intellegent posts. I think it builds us professionally and encourages collaboration. We are not so isolated after all.

I think one way it might have benefited me professionally, it certainly didn't hurt. It put my name into a pool of colleagues. I was elected as a Region representative for our Southern Section of CSLA two years ago. Serving on that board has provided opportunities for growth that I would not have imagined. You just never know what seed might be planted.