I have watched videos, read letters, and listened to testimonies from educators who have quit. Media outlets relentlessly lament the fact that teachers are quitting in droves.
I understand the “why” of quitting, except for the “no chance for advancement” part, as if being a classroom teacher is the bottom of the barrel and you have to work your way up from there. But let’s leave that to another post, shall we?
Would I die for my students?
Probably.
Teachers have placed themselves in harm’s way for their students countless times.
But, not like this.
Not in a situation where decisions could be made that would keep our students and educators safe.
A 61 year old educator in Arizonza was infected with COVID19, along with two other educators who were working in the same classroom. She died.They still don’t know if she got it from her family, and bought it into the classroom, or if she contracted it from another teacher. READ MORE…
Originally published on “Diary of a Public School Teacher” (Blogger)
Sometimes kids just want to do something that is fun. Meanwhile, I want fun and meaningful.
I gave them a @Quizizz pre-test on Genres and they bombed! They had an accuracy of about 42%, which told me that they knew almost nothing about genres. READ MORE…
I share these ideas twice a year. At the beginning of the school year, and the beginning of the year. I’ve made some changes to my list.
I don´t remember if I saw it in an email or on Twitter, but the Postcard Exchange project caught my eye. It was sponsored by @techTOSAGina. This was her first one, as a matter of fact. Each teacher would be responsible for sending out 50 postcards to all the other classes on the list.
Sounded like an interesting way to teach Geography. READ MORE …
Originally posted on “Diary of a Public School Teacher…!” (Blogger)
Category: Things that expire.
One of the concerns brought up at the NEA RA, ( National Education Association Representative Assembly), this year, was the reprehensible treatment of veteran educators. All over the United States, it seems veteran educators are under attack.
ll NEVER carry a weapon, concealed or otherwise, in my classroom.I will NEVER keep it locked in a safe.
I say this with the utmost certainty.
There is a huge debate going on about whether teachers should be armed in order to protect their students.
As usual, teachers’ voices are muted by the roar of non-educators who believe they know better. READ MORE…
Top reasons, I am an edtech ambassador.
1. I LOVE the resource.
I use it. Often. That’s why I was chosen. Whatever the edtech tool or resource, it is a part of my classroom toolbox. It works for me and my students. It’s a tool that helps me, help my students. If it did not accomplish that task, I would not use it, and I definitely would not be an Ambassador.
2. I get to provide feedback that someone actually listens to.
Think about it. Who wants feedback from a classroom teacher? Hardly anyone. The teachers in the classroom are rarely asked what they think, how they feel, how could we make this better? We are given the latest books written by authors who are not in the classroom, scripted curriculum, and orders about what next “new”thing we are to do with absolutely no consideration of our experience.
As an ambassador, teachers provide feedback, and get this…the edtech companies listen to us. We get to tell them what is working, what isn’t working, and what we would like to see happen with their product. We get to Beta test new features and give them our opinion about how it would work in our classroom. They are asking the advice of the people who are in the classroom, taking our advice, and making the product we use better!
3. I get a little swag.
FREE. The word teachers all over the world love. Why? Because much is expected of us, little is given. I have NEVER, and I mean never, in the years I have been an ambassador for any company, felt compromised. See #1. I write blog posts about it, share on Twitter, talk about it in Voxer, but these are things I would do anyway. We get some swag, a tshirt or keychain, items to give out at presentations, and maybe upgrades on the resource we are using. I have never been given a trip to the Caribbean.
4. I share with others.
When I came across an edtech resource that enhanced the way I taught the curriculum, I did not want to keep it to myself. I came out of my comfort zone and became an edtech presenter. At that point in time, there were no teacher ambassadors. I was a teacher who had the ability to make another person more comfortable with integrating edtech. The edtech companies realized how we could benefit from each other and took the steps to create Ambassadors.
By the same token, who do I want to hear ideas from? The edtech creator or the ambassador in the trenches? Kudos to the edtech companies for providing a platform for teachers to share their knowledge with others!
In a week, I will be presenting on an edtech resource I started using last year. This company doesn’t have an ambassador program. If they get one, I will definitely take advantage of the opportunity to join. I am excited to share this resource with others because I am sure it is something they would love in their classroom, as much as I love it in mine. And that’s the point.
5. Networking/Building your PLN(Professional Learning Network)
Integrating tech in the classroom is not everyone’s “thing.” Sometimes it is difficult to find like-minded people in your physical space. Being an ambassador provides that link to like-minded people all over the country and the world. The connections are limitless. I know the feedback they have contributed has helped many of the resources I use evolve into what they are now.
I don’t understand how teachers became villians for working with edtech companies as Ambassadors.
Here’s the problem.
From the viewpoint of our naysayers, we are “endorsing” a brand. Actually, we are sharing something that works in our classroom, a resource that we use and like anyway.
Good teachers don’t give up all other resources, and focus on the one(s) they are an Ambassador for.
It’s funny that athletes recieve millions of dollars to endorse a brand, people in Hollywood get designer clothing and jewelery worth thousands, sometimes millions, to wear to celebrity events.
And teachers are horrible because they get a tshirt and a premium subscription to an edtech resource?
Why do I often feel the need to convince “others” (Meaning people who are not teachers, do not work with teachers, or are not married or partners of teachers.),that my summer vacation is well-deserved and/or not really a break at all?
Which, by the way, is exactly what I am doing in this blog post! LOL
This post stemmed from my participation as a delegate at the NEA RA (National Education Association Representative Assembly). The delegate who proposed this hashtag felt that the #whatsummerbreak was needed because so many “others” felt that teachers just get the summer off to do absolutely nothing. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that.) The delegate wanted teachers to post using the #whatsummerbreak to prove to “others” that teachers really don’t enjoy their summer break the way other people think they do.
I guess this is a good time to mention that the RA lasted a week, I attended Friday through Wednesday. I worked 10 hour days, including Sunday and the 4th of July. (Ahem!)
Anytyway. The point is there are many, many, many, many, teachers working their way through their “summer break.” Some of them are really working, as in, they have jobs. Jobs they MUST have in order to survive until school begins again, or this is their all-the-time 2nd job in order to survive.
Then we have the teachers who are doing, we’ll call it “school stuff.” Conferences, classes, summer school,(Wait, that’s a job), and .or book studies. Some of them are home, or in their classrooms, preparing for the new school year. Whether it’s redesigning rooms, adjusting or creating new lesson plans, etc… I changed grades last year, so most of my summer last year was spent getting ready for the new curriculum.
So yeah, for thousands of teachers around the country, the #whatsummerbreak does apply.(Watch this video)
But for those educators, or anyone else who deals with Other People’s Children, do not, as I find myself doing much too often, feel the need to justify why you are off! EVER!
For 10 months you do what most people could not. You deal with parents, their children, other teachers, coaches, administrators. You write lesson plans, grade papers, attend PD, arrive early, leave late, give up countless hours of your time, coach, run after-school programs, and you never,ever, stop thinking about those kids, “your kids.”.
And, before the “others” say it, yes, you willingly signed up for this job. But this job, this job can suck the life out of you.
SO, if for 2 months you want to sit on a beach, travel around the world, play with your kids, binge on a Netflix, (substitute any streaming device here), show, talk to your significant other about something other than school, then do it! You deserve it, and don’t you ever feel the need to justify it. #summerbreak
Please feel free to post to either hashtag #summerbreak or #whatsummerbreak and enjoy the rest of your summer!
DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER 