As many of you probably know, our MIEM Team is made up of people who have responsibilities to not only MIEM but also to either MSBO or MASA. Besides being the Executive Director for MIEM, I am the Associate Executive Director for MASA. When wearing the MASA hat, my primary role is that of overseeing MASA conferences and professional development. MASA recently held its 2009 Midwinter Conference in Kalamazoo.
This year’s theme was Reimagining Today Reinventing Tomorrow: A Peer to Peer Sharecasing. It was exciting to be a part of a conference where our members, superintendents and front line assistants, gathered with the primary focus of sharing and learning from each other. Many of the presentations were conducted by individuals who have been working over the past three years on the volunteer endorsement of superintendent program Courageous Journey. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Many attendees felt that the time spent together was very relevant. This is a format we will be planning to use in the future.
I share this with you to suggest that whenever you take part in a MIEM-sponsored activity, that you consider that you are taking part for a couple of reasons. First, our intention is for you to take away information, ideas, and tools that will help you to be as good as you can in your role as a professional educator. The second reason, we hope, is that you are willing and able to go back to your own setting and be open to share and teach others those things that will help them to learn and grow. Whether it is a student, colleague, or even your supervisor, you will not only be helping them and your organization, you will also be embedding your new learning.
It is true; the best way to learn is to master a concept well enough that you can teach it to another.

Daniel G. Pappas
Associate Executive Director MASA
Executive Director MIEM