It's ok to #EduVent

I've had a very busy weekend and I'm about to have a very busy week. I was checking in on Twitter and I saw a friend of mine stressing out a bit. I sent a DM and a goofy picture and I let them vent. It felt good to listen and just be a sounding board.

Sometimes I think many teachers are afraid to vent, especially on Twitter. So, I had an idea that I shared with my friend and we think it could be really helpful.

Using the hashtag #EduVent, we want educators to feel free to share that they are having a rough day. My hope is that people will reach out when someone uses the #EduVent tag and send them a DM to see how you can help. I think to many people still feel alone even though they are on Twitter.

I hope this tag will connect people in a more personal way and provide support to many of us who need a person to just talk to when nobody else is around.

There are so many positive and caring people in my PLN, I'm really hoping this tag takes off and we can help those who need it.

Update for clarification:

After reading a couple of comments below I realized that most post was not clear. I am not suggesting that everyone just spout off on how terrible their students, principals, etc are being and that is why you are having a bad day or week. That could lead to some repercussions that I would hate to see for any person.

The #EduVent tag is supposed to be a signal for others to contact the person through DM to talk about the issue in private where people can share their feelings however they want. Its meant to be a way for teachers to connect and discuss bigger issues that cannot be discussed on Twitter or other Social Media sites.

I hope this is something that will allow some people to connect and not feel so alone when dealing with problems. The one thing Twitter has shown me over the past year and a half is that I'm not alone and I want others to feel the same.

If you have questions or concerns, please drop me a comment and I'll get back to you.
- @TheNerdyTeacher

A word from a teacher on his yacht

I wanted to take a quick break from relaxing on my yacht off the coast of Bali to talk about the recent conversations in the media about teachers. My butler Alfred tells me that there is a growing voice that teachers are over compensated for their work. I was shocked to hear this. How shocked? I almost fell of my trained Polo Zebra, that's how shocked I was. Who in their right mind could suggest that teachers are over paid? 

I work very hard for 9 months of the year. My day starts at 8 in the morning and I'm out the door by 3 in the afternoon. Yes, you read that right. Teachers are forced to work until 3! As a high school teacher, I get to have 7 minute breaks every 48 minutes so a new group of kids can come in and fill out bubble testing sheets. It really is a nice way to break up the day.

I'm just glad my weekends are not cluttered with gross amount of paperwork so I can spend time with family and friends in Paris and Prague. I can just slide those bubble tests into a computer and wash my hands of the situation. I can't even imagine what it would be like to have to take work home. That's the kid's job, not mine as a teacher. How can I spend time choosing between an original Picasso or Monet when I need to provide "valuable feedback to ensure student growth"? That is what the tests are for. If the kid gets an A, he's smart. If the kid gets a B, he is smart, just not as smart as the kid who got an A. It's a very simple format that has been used for years. If it's not broke, why fix it?

I was told by my chef, who makes the best lobster bisque from home raised lobsters, that some people do not like the fact that teachers get their summers off. Summers off? Are you kidding me? If you call laying out around the pool in Vegas "Summer off", you are sadly mistaken. I need this time to relax and get ready for the next school year. Do you expect me to take more college classes to become a better teacher? Do you expect me to spend all of my free time going to conferences or revising my lessons in an effort to make them better? Maybe if you paid me like a billionaire instead of a millionaire. My personal masseuse just laughed really hard at that. 


I need to wrap this up because my jet is warming up and fuel is not cheap. As a teacher, I feel I make just enough to scrape by day to day. Cutting my compensation would be crazy! I would have to fire at least half of my gardening staff and most of my personal trainers. Teachers are people who have decided to spend their time educating the future of this country. It's not a fancy job, but we chose it because it was our calling. We get compensated a very fair wage that allows most of us to get by. Reforming education is a noble plan, but attacking teacher compensation doesn't seem like the right way to go. Just think of it this way, what is an education really worth to a child?

Feel free to comment below or send me a tweet at @TheNerdyTeacher. I will try and get back to you in between Tennis lessons with my buddy Pete and golf lessons with Jack.


- @TheNerdyTeacher

Time for an upgrade

One of the many things I was looking forward to this year was the possibility of becoming a part-time tech facilitator. I was told a job was going to be posted and I just needed to apply. I had spent countless hours planning all of the different things I was going to do to help the students and staff of my district. I talked with so many great people in my PLN, I was sure I was going to help my district accomplish its goal of being a leader in educational technology. My district was in desperate need of an upgrade and I was excited to be part of the solution.

Well, the budget was hammered out and that position, among others, was lost. I do not want to use this space to rail against the decision to cut the tech positions while the district claims to want to be a leader is educational technology. I've covered that topic before and I do not need to preach to the choir. So, I've decided to build a better position and pitch it to the powers that be. I would appreciate any comments on the make-up of the job I'm proposing.

Details:

- This position could be part-time or full time. If it was part time, the person who fills the position would teach two classes in the morning and would fill the tech facilitator responsibilities the second half of the day.
- The tech facilitator would be available to all buildings in the district.

Tech Facilitator Duties:

- Working with all building administrators, including the superintendent, to get them signed up to Twitter. If they are willing to sign up and lead, the teachers will be more willing to do so.

- Setting up blogs for each school for admins to share information with parents, students and staff.

- Creation of building Facebook pages

-Individualized PD

- The TF could be checked out by teachers like a book from a library to help construct lessons that incorporate technology. Teachers could get workshop hours for these 1:1 sessions.

Large PD

- Building Admins could check out the TF to run building wide PD or have them create smaller in-building workshops.

Tech All-Stars

- The TF would work with willing teachers from each building to create a group of Tech All-Stars that would help teachers within their building with tech integration and grade specific help.

- The Tech All-Stars would meet regularly to discuss tools and integration strategies to best help all the buildings in the district.

Tech Blog

- The TF would run a district wide Tech blog that would provide examples of new tools available in the district.

- Screencasts would be created and uploaded based on the needs of the students, staff and parents of the district.

Attending and Presenting at Conferences

- The TF would attend and present at conferences to be up to date on the current trends in technology and pedagogy.

Business

-The TF would work with local businesses to try and bring new tech to the district. Building a relationship with local families and business could help offset major budget cuts.

After School/Weekend Seminars

- The TF would run after school and weekend seminars for parents, students and staff on various tech related items.

Policy

- The TF would work with the administration, parents and school board to shape new policy as technology grows and changes.

All of these job duties, and possibly others, would be performed by one person who would also be teaching 1-2 classes as well.

The ultimate goal of this proposal is to create a position that would best use the money available by drastically changing the way PD is offered in my district. In the long run, money will be saved on PD because the TF will be working with more teachers effectively.

Please feel free to comment on anything I have or might have left off. This is going to be my last ditch effort to create some change in my district before I start considering other options. A person can only roll the boulder up the hill so many times right?

Thanks again for all of your support and wish me luck!

-@TheNerdyTeacher

#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