The Common Core Secret Weapon Tour

My partners in crime, Kristen Hearne and Monique German, and I have been fortunate enough to present our "Common Core Secret Weapon" presentation at the Upstate Technology Conference and TL Virtual Cafe. This presentation has opened up other opportunities to speak to librarians. This week we are sharing with a neighboring district, in February we are presenting to our region of the state library association and a school district a few counties away, and in March we are presenting for our state conference. In addition, we were asked by a neighboring state to present this session as well as a few individual ones at their annual summer training.
We are very honored and a bit nervous about it. We strive to do our best in our libraries and district and step up as leaders, but we sometimes suffer from humility. I suppose it is natural to wonder if what you want to share is going to help anyone. Positive blog comments, tweets, and chatting with librarians at conferences gives me encouragement to keep sharing and presenting. I know many teachers and librarians that do the most wonderful things in their classroom, but never tell anyone about it. Maybe this is why the negative stories about education get the most attention. I feel a responsibility to brag. My intent is to brag on the entire profession and bring everyone up, not myself. I'm here to serve my students and that is what pushes me. I know that librarians have a positive impact on students and student learning. I am inspired by reading blogs, sharing on Twitter, and attending presentations and webinars; therefore, I feel a responsibility to return the favor.
Do you ever question whether or not you are good enought to present? or blog? or share?
How do you overcome that self doubt?

I thought this quote summed up our concerns very well. We hope that by sharing our ideas we are helping others.

Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less. -Rick Warren

I also found inspiration in the SLJ article, "How Does Your Boss See You?". I even asked that this be the pre-workshop homework assignment for the attendees to our upcoming presentations. Here is the link in case you missed it. My favorite line is "And while some media specialists say they’re waiting for an invitation to lead from their principals, a majority of administrators say librarians should take the initiative themselves." I hope that after our presentations the librarians in attendance will be motivated to take initiative in their schools and districts.