I found my tribe!
I’ve been looking for a long time.
Over the years I have had the pleasure of working with some amazing tribelets, small hunting bands who really shaped me as an educator and made me the teacher I am today. But the other night during a Twitter chat (#tosachat) Karly Moura (@KarlyMoura) shared this image by Sylvia Duckworth (@sylviaduckworth) with me.
I’ve been looking for a long time.
Over the years I have had the pleasure of working with some amazing tribelets, small hunting bands who really shaped me as an educator and made me the teacher I am today. But the other night during a Twitter chat (#tosachat) Karly Moura (@KarlyMoura) shared this image by Sylvia Duckworth (@sylviaduckworth) with me.
The art flashed up on my Twitter feed and I beamed. I found my tribe or they found me. It didn’t matter. Teaching can be a very isolating profession. It is absolutely a profession that draws passionate personalities together. Finding those whose beliefs match your own can be dicey.
When I started teaching I was handed a key, a list of students, a jumble of desks and a pile of books. Standing amidst the disarray I really should have been struck by the silence, but was too excited by the possibilities to really notice.
To be honest, keeping my head up above water was pretty all encompassing that first month. Somewhere after my second month, however, I began searching for how others were navigating the craft. In teacher school I had the benefit of collaborating with my fellow student teachers, my master teacher, as well as my teacher from the university. With the dust having settled upon my first month of teaching, I was ready to begin to reach out and establish some connections.
I decided that I would reach out first to a veteran teacher at my grade level. I wandered in and asked how she was going to be approaching some topic or other. I don't even remember what the topic was, just that it was coming up and while I had some half baked ideas, being able to work with someone with some experience was desirable.
She looked at me, clearly appalled, and said, "No." She did not share her ideas, nor did she have any interest in hearing mine. She made it clear in no uncertain terms that her filing cabinet was off limits. She had spent years cultivating her units and her projects. What she did not say but was implied was that these units and projects somehow set her apart from the masses.
I didn’t realize it at the time, but that was the beginning of my search for my tribe. I left her room and never stepped foot in there again. I reached instead beyond my grade level and in some cases my school. I found professional books, speakers, colleagues, and conferences. Over time I created a Professional Learning Network for myself...limited by the technology of its time certainly, but it served its purpose to an extent.
Flash forward to a couple months ago. While familiar with Twitter I hadn't really seen it as an extension of my PLN. Now...I can’t imagine teaching without the collaboration of my fellow TOSAs, near and far. I listen and learn with them on Voxer. I have asked dozens of questions, offered some ideas, cheered on eduwins, and commiserated over edufails.
Twitter doesn’t have to be about what a celebrity ate for dinner. There are a large number of educational chats targeting all aspects of the profession. I sincerely encourage folks to log in, lurk, see what a chat is all about. Try a few out. See which fit. See which don’t. Above all else, find your tribe. Bring along the tribelet you have created for yourself close to home, but seek out others!
Click here to go to a site that manages education related chats.
Click here to go to an easy to read resource for educators wanting to get started on Twitter.
Are you a teacher in Pittsburg Unified? Search #pusdcollab or pusdedtech to see what some folks you may know are tweeting. Follow one or two.
Follow me too: @jogireland. Take a look at who I am following and you may find a few more you’d like to follow.
I found my tribe. Have you?
When I started teaching I was handed a key, a list of students, a jumble of desks and a pile of books. Standing amidst the disarray I really should have been struck by the silence, but was too excited by the possibilities to really notice.
To be honest, keeping my head up above water was pretty all encompassing that first month. Somewhere after my second month, however, I began searching for how others were navigating the craft. In teacher school I had the benefit of collaborating with my fellow student teachers, my master teacher, as well as my teacher from the university. With the dust having settled upon my first month of teaching, I was ready to begin to reach out and establish some connections.
I decided that I would reach out first to a veteran teacher at my grade level. I wandered in and asked how she was going to be approaching some topic or other. I don't even remember what the topic was, just that it was coming up and while I had some half baked ideas, being able to work with someone with some experience was desirable.
She looked at me, clearly appalled, and said, "No." She did not share her ideas, nor did she have any interest in hearing mine. She made it clear in no uncertain terms that her filing cabinet was off limits. She had spent years cultivating her units and her projects. What she did not say but was implied was that these units and projects somehow set her apart from the masses.
I didn’t realize it at the time, but that was the beginning of my search for my tribe. I left her room and never stepped foot in there again. I reached instead beyond my grade level and in some cases my school. I found professional books, speakers, colleagues, and conferences. Over time I created a Professional Learning Network for myself...limited by the technology of its time certainly, but it served its purpose to an extent.
Flash forward to a couple months ago. While familiar with Twitter I hadn't really seen it as an extension of my PLN. Now...I can’t imagine teaching without the collaboration of my fellow TOSAs, near and far. I listen and learn with them on Voxer. I have asked dozens of questions, offered some ideas, cheered on eduwins, and commiserated over edufails.
Twitter doesn’t have to be about what a celebrity ate for dinner. There are a large number of educational chats targeting all aspects of the profession. I sincerely encourage folks to log in, lurk, see what a chat is all about. Try a few out. See which fit. See which don’t. Above all else, find your tribe. Bring along the tribelet you have created for yourself close to home, but seek out others!
Click here to go to a site that manages education related chats.
Click here to go to an easy to read resource for educators wanting to get started on Twitter.
Are you a teacher in Pittsburg Unified? Search #pusdcollab or pusdedtech to see what some folks you may know are tweeting. Follow one or two.
Follow me too: @jogireland. Take a look at who I am following and you may find a few more you’d like to follow.
I found my tribe. Have you?