#SchoolDidAGoodThing - November #ProjectPLN

Happy November everyone!

We are excited to bring you the November Issue of Project PLN because it focuses on stories that will make you feel great about what you do as an educator. We know there are many fantastic stories out there of the good things schools (and teachers) are doing, so we decided to share them with everyone. Let the contributors know what you think about their story and feel free to share your own story on Twitter using the hash tag #SchoolDidAGoodThing.

For the December Issue, we want to do something AWESOME. We want to hear from students from across this country and around the world. Educators, politicians, parents and many more have been telling everyone what schools should look like to best serve students. Well, we had the crazy idea of actually asking the students what they would want their school to look like if they could design it! These can be group projects or a collection of smaller projects. If you send it, we will publish it.

Using this Google Doc, please sign up for the grade level you teach and have your students draw, write, film, animate, etc what they want in their dream school. In all, we would like to have 13 posts representing K-12.

We would love to have all submissions by Monday December 19 so we can put them up for Tuesday December 20th before the Holidays get the best of us.

We will be taking January off to recharge our batteries, but don’t let that keep you from writing! We would love to have people work on submissions for the February Issue which will be the Passion Issue. What are you passionate about and how do you show it in your classroom?

As always, if you ever have questions or ideas, please feel free to contact us at ProjectPLN10@gmail.com or @ProjectPLN.

Best Wishes,

Nick (@thenderdyteacher) and Kelly (@ktenkely)

Co-Editors

Project PLN

#SchoolDidAGoodThing - A Challenge for change

I have been blessed with the number of responses to my initial #SchoolDidAGoodThing post. I never thought it would bounce around the world the way it did. Responses from Diane Ravitch, Justin Hamilton and amazing educators around the world truly inspired me. I love checking in on the tag to see the few new tweets that have appeared from time to time. However, I'm not satisfied.

The Save Our Schools rally is in DC this weekend where educators from across the country are going to voice their opinion on the current state of education. Sadly, I can't be there and I know there are many others who want to be there as well. So, I have an idea.

What if every single educator tweeted a message to @ArneDuncan and @BarrackObama a positive message of what schools do using #SchoolDidAGoodThing? If we all shared a united voice on how important schools are and how critical it is to have teachers at the table for discussions, they might just start to listen.

There are so many educators that are on Twitter and engaged in blogging, it is possible to make a difference if we can all band together for a common cause. Trying to reach out to the politicians that are making policy is key. If educators rallied behind this tag and spread it across Twitter, Facebook, Blogs and even Myspace, we could make them listen.

The Challenge:

I challenge every single educator that has a Twitter account to tweet the President and Secretary of Education a POSITIVE message of what schools have done using #SchoolDidAGoodThing. If you do not have a Twitter account, sign up and send these tweets in support of the teachers that are taking the time to head out to DC and show the government how serious we are about the education of this nation's children.

There is no reason that we can not get this tag to start trending across the country. You do not have to be an educator to use the hash tag. The more people that we get to send tweets or post comments on Facebook pages, the bigger influence we can have. We have to speak up, and that time is now. Maybe then, politicians will see educators as more than test givers and punching bags.

Please take a minute of your time to share this post with everyone you know that wants to make a positive change in education.

Do you have the time to help make a change?

- @TheNerdyTeacher

Picture from Flickr Creative Commons

#SchoolDidAGoodThing

Creative Commons Flickr by ishouldbesleepingbut

I read a great article yesterday on the Comics Alliance website. It was about a hash tag created by Gail Simone (@GailSimone) entitled #ComicsDidAGoodThing. She wanted people to share how comics had a positive impact on their life. Comics are often looked upon as a waste of paper or not serious literature. I'm a big fan of comics and think they speak to a group of people that are often pushed to fringe of social groups. I started my Graphic Novel class at my high school because I wanted to reach a different segment of the student body.

I read over 100 tweets from the people that used the #ComicsDidAGoodThing tag. It was hard not to feel for some of the people that sent tweets about the impact of comics in their lives. The power of a story or a connection with characters can have a deeper impact than most people realize.

I started to think. Many people out there think that the education system is a wreck and kids are being let down all over the country. I would like to start a new hash tag. #SchoolDidAGoodThing. I think it would be great if everyone that read this tweeted something awesome school did for you. It could be a program that helped you grow as a person or a teacher that inspired you in some fashion. Almost everyone has a good story about school that they could share and I think now is as good of a time as any to share them with the world.

Please join me in sharing a good story about how #SchoolDidAGoodThing

- @TheNerdyTeacher