For me, the teacher networks I belong to have two functions. First, the networks connect me to a community of like-minded people with a common professional interest and objective in life. Second, I want to find resources that will have a positive impact on my teaching practice.
Oddly enough, the idea of developing connections with teacher networks only occurred to me in the past two years. As a National Board Certified Teacher, I decided to attend the Teaching and Learning 2014 Conference in Washington, DC. While perusing the list of presenters, I was immediately energized and interested to attend. Until this time, I was proud of being Board certified but didn’t know what else the organization did or how it could further impact my teaching. Attending this conference further opened my eyes to the scores of talented and knowledgeable people involved in education. Being interested in policy and practice, I found myself with a buffet of choices involving both. I was able to listen to Angela Duckworth discuss her research involving the impact of grit and self-control on educational success. I met Pasi Sahlberg and listened as he discussed educational practice in Finland which led his home country to a #1 ranking on the PISA exam. Charlotte Danielson led a panel discussion on her teaching Framework. I found out about a website called www.noredink.com developed by a former English teacher, Jeff Scheur, to help with grammar instruction. This conference changed my view of the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards from certification granting entity, to a living, breathing organization that was dedicated to being a teacher network and positively impacting the practice of all teachers (admission to the conference is open to anyone who is interested). Teaching and Learning 2015 provided another stimulating session and I am looking forward to 2016! Attending this conference is invigorating.
Recently, I’ve discovered the value of Twitter in connecting with educational people and organizations of interest. Until fairly recently, I could not understand how Twitter was worth my time. I’m not very interested in the daily lives of “celebrities” or the opinions of athletes. This year our principal created a Twitter account for our school https://twitter.com/WarwickPPPRIDE I joined to check it out. After a few minutes, I quickly realized that Twitter is much more than a 140 character platform for anyone with a keyboard. Many of the names mentioned in the previous paragraph kept popping up on my Twitter page. Instead of just being able to read their book or a random article, I could now be connected to a multitude of their ideas, and the thoughts and ideas of people they respect.
With these networks, I keep tabs on the profession as a whole and investigate educational policy in our country and, as much as possible, abroad.
As an aside . . . . While I vote and write my legislators regarding educational policy, I am not overly active in the political realm. I do believe, however, that the least teachers can do is be informed about what is going on in the Department of Education and with legislation around the country and the world. The leadership of the profession of education has been taken over by politicians in our country. Since they have no idea what to do and refuse to ask teachers, social workers, and other experts on creating a nurturing social system, they have delegated private industry, including the test production industry, and others with little to no experience in education, or social issues, as the stewards of the public education system in the United States. As a professional educator with a deep interest in the success of public education and the intellectual growth of the next generation of humans, I am appalled at what is happening. I want to know as much as possible about these developments. I want to see if more knowledgeable friends of education, and good policy, know what I know and see what I see. I also want to know what they are doing about it. For that reason, I follow Diane Ravitch https://twitter.com/DianeRavitch , Andy Hargreaves https://twitter.com/HargreavesBC , and Pasi Sahlberg https://twitter.com/pasi_sahlberg . All are excellent sources on what Pasi Sahlberg calls GERM, which stands for the Global Education Reform Movement. He explains in a Washington Post article from 2012, “It is like an epidemic that spreads and infects education systems through a virus. It travels with pundits, media and politicians. Education systems borrow policies from others and get infected. As a consequence, schools get ill, teachers don’t feel well, and kids learn less.”
I would love to hear about the teacher networks you’ve discovered.
June 15, 2015 at 8:34 am
This summer I will be attending the ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) conference for the first time. I am looking forward to it and will happily share my experiences and reflections afterwards.
June 17, 2015 at 4:41 pm
Thanks for mentioning this opportunity! I was looking for some conferences/workshops to attend this summer and this seems to be a good fit.
June 15, 2015 at 12:34 pm
I would very much like to attend the 2016 conference. Being a part of a group of educators talking about what’s best in teaching sounds like it would be very motivating. I also want to talk more about National Board Certification….It’s something I’m becoming more and more interested in. Sounds like their might be a home for me in at least one of the networks you mentioned.
June 15, 2015 at 12:45 pm
Thanks for sharing! I have never truly looked into teaching networks unless it was for an assignment. I’m FINALLY realizing their value! One organization that I am in the process of highlighting (so stay tuned) aids the world of world language, but nowadays I think anything language related has the ability to aid all kinds of educators! And they have a twitter! Twitter is something I just started to investigate. I always thought it’s only purpose was for celebrities to announce their every move and for those obsessing to comment and know their every move. WELL, I was wrong!
June 15, 2015 at 12:55 pm
Sounds like we had a similar perception Samantha! I think Americans need to better exposed, and at an earlier age, to world languages.
June 16, 2015 at 1:41 pm
Younger is better! It is easier to learn foreign languages in elementary school than learning in the middle or high school. My daughter is 10 years old, she is learning Arabic at home, I wanted her to learn Spanish too. So, I asked the district if it is possible to add it to the curriculum. Unfortunately, they asked me to call the parents to see who is interested in the program, to find a Spanish teacher who is willing to volunteer by going to teach the kids early morning before the school starts, which is impossible for me to do because I am a busy parent not an administrator in the district!
June 16, 2015 at 11:36 pm
Hi Robert,
Thanks for sharing . I am new at twitter and trying to find good people to follow. I added two of the people you recommended.
Kathy
June 17, 2015 at 4:58 pm
I have to agree with you, Robert. I too was apprehensive about the educational value of Twitter at first, but since signing up 2 weeks ago I have already benefited in a variety of ways. I have found some useful tools, such as https://edpuzzle.com/welcome , which I mentioned during our last Google Hangout. I also learned about a few professional networks, such as http://flippedclassroom.org/, where you can find numerous resources to flip your classroom for free. Above all, I’ve met a few knowledgeable educators with similar professional interests with whom I plan on further developing a working relationship. Through these relationships I hope to obtain constructive feedback that will improve my practice.
June 23, 2015 at 3:52 pm
Bob,
Feedly has been equally as interesting to me as Twitter. It’s another “system” which I can organize to bring the information “I” am interested in directly to me. No more “surfing the web” to find the stuff I like- it just comes right to me and I scroll, skim, and read on my terms, and in my time. It’s always coming in and waiting. My use comes and goes in waves, but if I’m ever wanting for some ideas all I have to do it open my app and scroll a bit.
I applaud your passion regarding public ed. You need only read the local papers (which I don’t, but because of class am being made to – Quakertown Community School for example) to see further examples of the challenges our educational system faces (re: PSERS issues and graduation speeches, and on goes the list).
I too am attending the ISTE conference. The last conference I attended was ASCD about 10 years ago – I’m still using/applying information I learned in those two days in my current position! We are surrounded by people and yet our work becomes too isolating. A problem I hope we can address in the future.
And as you point out, that network is available without attending a conference anymore – at least to a large degree. Educators are just beginning to realize that, and tap in to it’s potential.
Kudos and cheers on a well-written and thoughtful blog. Knowing you, and many of those you’ve written about, it’s been a pleasure to read and ponder.
June 25, 2015 at 5:55 pm
I am still trying to figure out the Twitter universe, but comments from folks like you inspire me to keep on tweeting.
I am particularly intrigued by your remarks about education policy. I have been working to be more informed about what goes on at school board meetings and in Harrisburg and Washington that affects my students and me. In the middle of it all now — I am both a parent and a teacher — staying informed and voting is so critical, and I appreciate your suggestions for people to follow on Twitter.