Twitter -ment

There are many places to get encouragement, but for me, in my profession, it's Twitter.  Last night, I was able to participate in the College Station ISD Chat (#csisdchat) and each time I participate in any educational related Twitter chat, it's always inspiring, encouraging, rejuvenating, and refreshing.

I read an article that I found through Twitter this week, while waiting in the dentist office, that really, and I mean really, really, really resonated with me called, "Find Your Marigold: The One Essential Rule for New Teachers."  I strongly encourage you to read this article and ponder what it means to you in the context of your school, business, or organization, and what the implications of having a marigold in your life are.  For me, I'm proud to say I have a marigold and she knows who she is, as I shared this with her yesterday in a text message.  I won't embarrass her here, but I know I've caused her to be angry at me, take me aside like a mother would, speak sternly to me, have me hang my head, etc, but she still takes time to encourage me in all aspects of my life, not just professionally!  

If you find yourself in need of encouragement, agreement, investment, employment (yes, even this), commitment, improvement, involvement, achievement, excitement, establishment, engagement, amusement, enjoyment, acknowledgment, astonishment, enhancement, refreshment, refinement, accompaniment, enrichment, nourishment, empowerment, wonderment, or even betterment, then you truly need to find some Twitter -ment.  It's been in Twitter, and remember, I only joined in Jan 2015, that I have been able to experience all these, when my marigold was busy, sick, tired, overworked, or otherwise unavailable.  See, even marigolds need all these things too.

I've had some folks tell me that they couldn't take on yet another social media platform.  There's no way to keep up.  But to that I say, there really is no way to keep up, that's why Twitter chats are so helpful to me, because it enlarges my PLN, gives me more folks that I feel connected to that I can send out an SOS when I need something.  And I hate to sound like a broken record, but if there's something in the technology world that makes me better at my role, better for my students, better for the teachers I work with, then why would I not use it.  I hope you find some Twitter -ment in your life this week. 

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Learning or Playing?

I'm trying not to get my feathers ruffled this week.  But I've had two different people tell me something to the effect that they couldn't do something with technology or didn't have time to use this or that with technology because they didn't have time to waste on playing like I do (because they thought there was no academic value in it).  Yes, technology is my passion, but no matter what your passion is or isn't, shouldn't learning and playing be synonymous?  I mean really, how many of us every really learned to do something under stressful, laborious conditions or without much interest for the subject or with simply a piece of paper and pencil?  When I see kids (and teachers) experience some new piece of technology, site, program, etc, there are smiles, enthusiasm, a focus on that task like not seen in a paper and pencil task.  So, if all this is true, then my goodness, why would we not want to use every available piece of technology or find some way to incorporate it or use it to motivate our kiddos as a reward for something?  I don't mean to rant, I just simply don't understand.  But maybe I do a little, see I was slightly there a few years ago.  "No, I don't want to learn that new program because I barely have time for what is required after all."  But when I discovered all that it can do to save me time, like grading those assignments for me, or motivating my reluctant and shy kiddos to speak into an iPad and tell their story instead of being mute in class, or watching my most ADHD kiddo stay focused for thirty plus minutes, then why not.  

To me, PLAYING IS LEARNING!

A poster I found for our computer lab says, "Learning is not a spectator sport, so let's play!"  It's in this "playing" that we make mistakes, reflect on them, fix it, move on, learn to persevere, learn how to have stamina, learn how to have grit.  It's in the "playing" that I, as a teacher, now have time to see my students in a small group setting so they can't hide in a large group and fake their way through some content.  It's in the "playing" that I learn how to keep my students motivated, attentive, engaged, yet active in their own learning.  It's in the "playing" that I now have time for more important tasks like using all that data to reteach/review instead of wasting it on actually grading something (and I'm not just talking about assessments).  It's in the "playing" that I can be a better communicator to my families and connect my students to the real world.  It's in the "playing" that new discoveries are made on all sorts of topics.  Playing and learning just go together and we should all make time to play every now and again.  Playing makes us better at what we do and better for our students (who by the way are better at technology than any adult I know, myself included).  I hope you make time to play and learn!

Find Some Good

To say this has been a crazy week, would be an accurate statement.  The stomach bug made its way through our entire home.  The youngest has been dealing with some teeth issues since summer, so we had to make an emergency trip to dentist.  At our home, the gas company had to come do service which left us without hot water for three days.  And at school, we are deep in the midst of beginning of the year testing that requires technology that is aging and an internet system that has been in and out.  With all this, there is much to complain or be down about, but I still say, find some good in everyday.  My family is all healthy now, has a roof over our heads, cars that work, food on the table, jobs, and family that we get the opportunity to wake up to each day.  For this and much more, I am grateful!

You see, no matter your role, whether it be parent, teacher, administrator, coach, adult in general, I can guarantee that you are The Problem Solver for someone.  You are the person they seek out in times of indecision, turmoil, problems, frustration, etc.  Speaking for myself, it can be draining to fill these shoes, but I still have to find some good in each interaction, because there are others relying on me daily to keep a cool head.  I'm not perfect at this, and this week proved this.  It's my responsibility to give folks the benefit of the doubt, to find a win-win solution to things, to encourage others, to say no when I can't do something and not try to muddle through, to seek help when I need it, and to find some good in all situations.  It's been my experience that many times the issues I encounter with people is a by-product of something that is completely out of my control, so I try not to take things personally.

I'm not sure if your week has been like mine, but I still want to encourage you to find some good, even in the craziest of places and times.  There are others who need you.

Educational Reassurance

No matter what our gender, race, ethnicity, religion, or age is, we all need some educational reassurance from time to time.  This week, my colleagues are venturing into this wide open world of Google Apps for Education (GAFE) and are required to develop their Google site (teacher webpage).  For some, it's no problem, Google how to do it, watch a how to video, read a quick PPT with instructions and they are on their way.  For others, it's a scary venture and they need some reassurance and for those I can completely relate.  Teachers and other educational professionals, in my own opinion, truly want to do what is right and meet those deadlines, but so often the procrastination is based in fear.  Why do something that seems so monumental that will be phased out in a couple of years?  How will this positively impact my students or families?  Why is this important?  I don't know how.  I don't want to waste my time going in circles or having to redo my work.  I've heard it all and said many myself.  So, it's my responsibility to reassure them that this is a good thing for them, their students, and their families.

I'm not saying it's going to be easy.  I'm saying it's going to be worth it.

But here's the thing...it's not just in technology that we need reassurance.  How many times have things been mandated or passed downhill in education with little instruction or explanation?  In my experience, many times.  Like it or not, as teachers, we should help not only reassure our students during times of change or difficulty, but we should also reassure each other and encourage others.  This should be modeled starting from the top down and hopefully will help to create a contagious, positive culture for any campus.  

Now don't get me wrong, we all need a time to vent and express our frustration.  We all can't have those happy personalities and roll with whatever happens.  But by the same token, we should also be cautious in our venting, because we have little people watching us.  We have others who follow watching us, and when they see me frustrated or any admin frustrated, then it can do damage to whatever the new initiative is.  

So, for those times when you {or I} have nothing positive to say, here's a great resource I discovered through TPT created by Jennifer Hanger.

Failure IS an option

Ok, so I know this may sound weird, maybe a bit of a depressing topic, but I've had the word failure rattling around in my brain for a little bit now.  See, we have all heard the phrase, "Failure isn't an option."  But, actually it is an option, and it's not always a bad thing.  

The word failure has this negative stigma attached to it based upon our own life experiences.  According to Google, the definition of fail is a lack of success or the omission of expected or required action.  

I've spent some time finally deciding what I wanted our computer lab to represent, how it should look, what should go on the walls, and what I finally landed on were some ahhh-mazing posters created by a sweet lady, Shannon Long (@SweetBlessShan), and her site she writes on, "technology rocks. seriously."  She recently shared some posters she made in a Google drive here.  Many of them are inspirational in nature, designed to remind students and teachers to not give up and this is what lead me to start thinking of the word failure.  I know, strange connection, but that's how my brain works.  Anyways, we almost always, myself included, associate failure as a bad thing, but it can actually be good.  When faced with a new task, new program, new way of doing things, we will certainly face obstacles, failures if you will.  However in these obstacles, failures, difficulties, we discover within ourselves or by help new ways of doing things, better ways of doing things we were already doing, more efficient ways, etc.  We learn from those failures.  A true learner at heart will embrace those failures as opportunities to learn, not give up.  Too often I think we quit trying to learn something with a small hiccup, something didn't work right the 1st time, so why keep trying.  We lack that grit as Angela Ducksworth calls it.  When, as an adult, we model this in front of our students, or talk about this "giving up" in front of them, or complain about how we will never understand, learn, etc, then our students live this way too.  We need to model how to fail, how to overcome, how to have grit, and how to never give up!  It's in discussing these failures and how we overcame them that our students see them for what they are, "learning opportunities". 

I do believe that some failure is just as the saying says, and we have the obligation to NOT fail our students.  We must continually be learners at heart so we can adequately meet the needs of our students.  Each year is different, each class is different, each child is different and requires different things.  If we fail to learn, fail to try even, fail to overlook some things (not all things), or fail to seek out help when needed, then we are planning to fail.  Don't fail, but if you do, learn something from it, for our kiddos need someone who is an overcomer, willing to embrace failure, willing to move forward, willing to step out of their comfort zone and try.