The Semicolon and The Nerdy Teacher #semicolonEDU #ProjectSemicolon

It's been a little over a year since I publicly talked about my battle with depression. There have been many positives about writing that post. Besides making me feel better about what I was going through, the post gave courage to others to share their stories with me and for some to even share them publicly on their own blogs. The outpouring of support from friends all over the Internet really made a difference to me. I made it through this past ISTE without a single panic attack or bout of depression. I would not have been able to do that without my friends. I never would have received the support I did if I did not let people know that I needed support. 

A few weeks ago, I came across Project Semicolon. According to their website, "Project Semicolon (The Semicolon Project) is a faith-based non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and love to those who are struggling with depression, suicide, addiction and self-injury. Project Semicolon exists to encourage, love and inspire." This really caught my attention, but this quote really struck the Nerdy English Teacher in me. "A semicolon is used when an author could've chosen to end their sentence, but chose not to. The author is you and the sentence is your life."

I've never had thoughts of self harm or suicide, but I have had friends take their life. I've known students who have taken their life. It has always been painful to see these special people make these decisions. I will always feel like I could have done something. What if I shared my story earlier? What if they knew I battled the same demons they did? Ever since I came out about my battle with depression, I've committed myself to being more vocal in support of mental health issues. I've connected with so many people who have reached out to share their story it has helped me in my battle. 

I've been so happy to see people start to speak up regarding Mental Health. Joe Mazza shared his battle with depression during a great a TEDx talk at TEDxYouth@BHS and has written a beautiful post on it as well. An amazing young lady named Bryn also shared her story. Sharing the story is important. More people need to hear these stories to help spread a better understanding of what dealing with depression and anxiety is like.

Joe and I have talked over the past few weeks about doing something to support all of the educators out there that are battling depression on their own because they fear the stigma that comes along with depression and anxiety. Joe and I wanted to show that there is nothing to be ashamed of when it comes to mental health. So we went out and had a tattoo of a semicolon placed on our wrists. 

Me

Joe

I want people to ask us about this punctuation mark on our wrists so we can share our story. The more people know about mental health issues, the more we can get rid of the stigma. The more we get rid of that stigma, the more people will feel comfortable sharing their stories. We need students to feel comfortable sharing these feelings with their teachers and we need teachers to better understand mental health so they can support these students and their colleagues.  It is not a fun conversation, but it is one we need to have if we want to help people and possibly save lives. There is something all of you can do to show your support.

I would love to see pictures across the Internet from all of my PLN on Tuesday July 14th with a Semicolon drawn (or tattooed if you are up to it) on your body to show support for all of the educators dealing with mental health issues. Use the tag #semicolonEDU to show your support on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Let's show the world that we can come together and fight mental health stigmas by showing our support for one another. I know we can do it. 

Thanks for all of the love and support. 

Hugs and High Fives,  

-N

We Are Born Makers #MakerEd

"But you're an English Teacher." I've heard this a few times when talking about my love of Making and my efforts to put a Makerspace in my school. It has been frustrating trying to explain Making to others not into the Making movement, but I'm going to give it a try.

We are all born Makers. I know this by watching my son. He grabs his Legos and builds. He creates his stories and narrates them for all to see. He will perform puppet shows for an audience of one. He will draw and draw until ideas escape him. I watched him for 30 minutes as he tried to find items to help him scale the gate keeping him out of the kitchen. It was a beautiful sight to see. He has this is him and I refuse to let school destroy it.

Leo might not go into a field that is heavy in Math and Science, but that doesn't mean he can't still be a Maker. The Arts is filled with Makers. Leo could be the next great Comic Artist or storyteller. He could be a History Teacher. He could do anything and bring his spark of creativity. We need to encourage all students to continue Making when they go to school. This is how the big problems will be solved.

The world today is going to be very different for our children. We need to encourage our kids to keep being creative and keep Making so they are ready to tackle problems that could change the world. Makerspaces are not just a STEM or STEAM thing. It's a space for all people to nurture their creative side and explore their interests in a free form way. 

The next time you think that Making is not for you or your students because you do not teach one of "those" courses, remember that we are all Makers and the real problem is trying to keep students Making despite what curriculum try to do. 

It's Not Their Conference

It's your conference. I'm writing this post is response to the "clique" comments swirling around ISTE again. I'm just so tired of it. 

Now, many might claim my opinion is not very valid because I'm in a clique. I don't know what to say to that other than sorry I have friends I want to connect with after not seeing them in person for a year or more. My first ISTE was 6 years ago and Steven Anderson, Mary Beth Hertz, Amanda Dykes, Tim Gwynn, Michelle Baldwin, Kelly Tenkely, and many more opened their arms up and welcomed me. They didn't have to, but they did. I've met many great people over the years at ISTE  and have formed wonderful friendships with them. I did this because I wanted to and they were welcoming. If they were not, I would have found others. BTW, there are people who were not welcoming, so I don't hang out with them. 

Any conference is a busy time. There are not enough hours in the day. For others to complain that certain people were not more accessible or actively inviting to newbies is annoying. Who are others to other people how to interact at a conference? Why do people have to go out of their way to interact with others? We don't know what is going on with them. Maybe they are not up for it. Shouldn't that be allowed? As long as people are not openly rude/mean, shouldn't we let them be and have the conference experience they want?

I'm all for connecting and I did meet new people, but I did it because I wanted to do it. Kyle Pace got over 100 hugs because I joked about hugging him on a post. He welcomed it and strangers hugged him. That was the conference they wanted. 

Shaming people into engaging others is not the way to go. Let people have the conference they want as long as they are not hurtful to others. People will engage when they are ready. Just don't demand it from everyone all the time. 

Don't Judge Their Learning

Subtitled: You Don't Know Me

I watched the Twitter feed during ISTE and saw educators comment on the lack of "learning" going on in sessions. "More of the same" they would tweet or "It's more than just about the tools" others would add with an annoyed emoji thrown in. I was struck by the fact that others were determining the value of sessions for others. I would guess I have been guilty of this myself. Who am I to decided what is learning for someone else? It really made me think about the type of learning I do and how others might perceive it.

Many of us could be considered conference veterans. We have seen many of the same sessions over and over again and have decided, perhaps long ago, what learning looks like for ourselves. However, we should not be the judge of what it looks like for others. There were 20K attendees at ISTE this year. How many of them were there for the first or second time? How many are still trying to figure out what learning looks like for them?

I learned plenty from the sessions I attended my first few years that were just about "the tools". With a better understanding of these tools, I was able to explore different methods of instruction feeling confident I can use different tools to make it possible. That is how I started. Is that the wrong approach? I'm not sure, but I would be really annoyed if someone said the sessions I attended did not support real learning or thinking.

Attending ISTE, and any conference really, allows me to take control of my learning because that is where I am. I think anyone that considers themselves an ed tech leader should be mindful of the fact that not everyone is in the same place and that their journey in the educational world with be their own personal journey and they will get where they are going when they are ready. Our job as an educational community is to support anyone willing to take the trip.

Learning happens in the the strangest of places at the strangest of times. Let's not belittle those who find it in places others do not. It does not help anything.