The little things that matter

Today was the first day back for my students, and while I was trying to wipe the sleepy dust from my eyes, I thought maybe it would be nice to have another day or two off.

 Then I got to school and I realized I was happy to be there and I was happy to see the students.

You might be asking, why?

 I was happy because I got to see their faces light up with excitement when I asked them about their Christmas break. I watched a lot of it unfold on Instagram (so I knew a little) but I wanted more details. The kids were happy to share and were excited that I asked. One student, who I haven't taught, asked me about my recent trip and shared with me one of his trips to the same place.  Without social media helping us make that connection, this might be a student that I would never talk to.


 I know there are a lot of good teachers who don't want to connect with students outside of the school building. That's fine for them, but that doesn't work for me. I want to know them, good and bad, inside and outside of school, so hopefully I can help them reach whatever goals they have (or help them set some educational goals). I want them to share with me and I want to share with them. At any age, it is about the relationships.


 I am thankful for social media for helping me connect with students at my school (whether or not I have ever been their teacher). I understand that there are certain limits to be set. For me, Instagram is about my relationships with my students, and Facebook/Twitter is for the grownups in my life. I keep the two pretty much separate (except for an occasional picture that goes from Instagram to Facebook, but never the other way around).


 So if you are reading this and thinking about using social media with your students, I would urge you to try it. I am happy I did, because it brings me those little things that matter - like smiles on a cold day.


picture courtesy of Instagram

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Math Icon Board

Image
In my job, I am always looking for new ideas to share, whether it is a new activity or a new twist on an established one. Recently I got an email from Matt Miller at Ditch That Textbook with this idea -   an icon board for visual thinking.  I really got me thinking about how it could be used... and what other icon boards could be created. Since I am a former math teacher, that is where my mind heads - to math.  I started looking at the icons in the Insert Icons for Slides add-on, and sure enough, I found plenty that apply to math. So I started adding them, and thus creating my Math Icon Board My goal was to add icons that could be utilized in a variety of math and science classes. Obviously I do not have everything, partly because I couldn't find it or it didn't come to mind during my creation. When students use this, my suggestion is that they copy the icon (either by right-clicking and choosing copy OR hitting ctrl and C keys at the same time) and then...
Read more
Image
Math is Real Life!  It is the first Wednesday of November, which means it is time for Math is Real Life! I actually had an recent experience in my house that I shared with my students how my husband and I used the skill they were learning to make waffles. On Saturday morning tradition is to have waffles or pancakes for breakfast. A couple weeks ago, my husband and youngest daughter decided to make waffles and to use what pancake mix was left in the box.   I was in another room, but when I heard my husband say " 2 times one and a half equals 3", I ran into the kitchen and said "What did you say?" He replied "The recipe calls for 2 cups of mix, but there is 3 cups, so I figured out that 2 times 1 1/2 equals 3, so I will multiply my other ingredient amounts by 1 1/2 to determine what I need".  Well, I was a giddy mess, because in my ACCEL class I was introducing Multiplication of Fractions on Monday.  This is a topic that the kids always question me wh...
Read more

Remote Learning Recommendations, part 1

Now that many of us are in the thick of remote learning, or for those of us in my district, where we are preparing for remote learning, I have come across some great resources that I wanted to share. I am sure that throughout all this that there will be more, so that is why this is part 1. First, I have to say, I love Slidesmania . Her templates are amazing and I am constantly recommending her site to everyone. Right now, her Weekly Planner template is a must for teachers teaching remotely. Check it out! Second, I have seen a lot about educational technology companies reaching out to teachers, schools, and districts with free offers of normally paid versions.  On one hand, that is really cool, but it can be really overwhelming to teachers to decide what new tools to try in their classes.  Edweek  even wrote a very good piece on it. Based on what I have seen, planning with teachers and instructional coaches for remote learning, my recommendation is for teachers to ge...
Read more