Fears of Blogging

Blogging is scary.  You put your ideas out there for the world to analyze, criticize and pull apart.  Unless no one reads it, which might be worse.  Blogging is an important part of creating an online presence as well as sharing your expertise and perspective.  I have challenged myself to a 30 day blog, uh, challenge, where I will post a blog every day for 30 days.  In this first post I will review my fears and how I (mostly) overcame them.

1. I have nothing to say.  

I once suggested to my brother-in-law that he start a blog.  He is insanely witty.  His response to me was, "Then people will know how infrequently funny I am."  But that's the best part of blogs.  You can write several when you are on a roll and save them for publishing later.  You can even schedule your blogs to publish at a future date.

The other key to collecting your thoughts is to keep a blog ideas and notes list.  I use Siri a lot. Ideas usually hit me when I am driving.  I ask Siri to create a note and catch my thought as they come.  You have ideas, opinions and, unique to anyone else, perspective.  Blogs can also be edited, rearranged and tagged later.  I have 3 different blogs for the different hats I wear.

Lastly, research it! Ever have a wonder? Chances are others wonder that, too.  Have a seat, pour yourself a cup of coffee and give your wonder to Google.  Putting links to other sites in your blog posts helps up drive up your traffic and satisfy your reads.  Here are 8 reasons to link in your posts. (See what I did there?)

2. No one will read your blog.

This is probably my biggest fear, that I will pour heart out and no one will read it.  But if you never write it, you can be assured that no one will ever read it.  To help promote you own blog, share your posts on social media.  Twitter, LinkedIn and even (sigh) Facebook can be great places for you to peddle your ideas.

Friends, families and colleagues can also help share and create an audience.  Let them know you are blogging and would love for them to read, comment and share.  Sharing is caring but it can also be scary.  Getting a small following and spreading the word will help create a deserving audience for you newly birthed ideas.

3. Your blog might not be publish-worthy.

Ok, I lied.  THIS is my biggest fear.  I usually don't sit down to write a blog post until I have drafted the entire post in my head.  I lie awake at night, revising and editing in my noggin.  More often than not, I decide it's not worthy and I trash it, even before I have made the first key stroke.

You have to be ok with failure.  Not every post is going to be worthy of tons of retweets, shares and likes.  But to be a better writer, you have to write.  Stephen King's book On Writing gives writers tips on becoming better.  However I like Jeff Goins perspective on what it means to be "good".

4. You can't say what you really want to say.

This one holds me back a lot.  I have posts I would like to write and publish, but fear of retribution keeps me from pulling the publishing trigger.  Writing is truth, but do people really want the truth?  We have heard the stories of how comments online have destroyed careers and lives; is it worth it?  Perhaps I am being melodramatic.  Perhaps others will not be as offended as I imagine.  Things online live forever, though, and we have to remember that as we choose our words.  Freedom of speech allows us to say what we want, but it does not protect us from fallout, consequences or penalty.  I ask myself why I want to write, choose my audience and then make sure my words match my purpose.  Remember, blogs aren't diaries.  You are writing to have it read.  Remember your audience, remember your purpose and remember your story.

Courage is not the absence of fear; it is the conquest of it (Anonymous), so begin overcoming your fear of blogging and start sharing your awesome ideas.

Rainbows & Sunshine: Confessions of a Lifelong Learner

I wrote a blog post of the misconceptions of lifelong learners, and, as usual, it really got me thinking (and if we are being honest, feeling sorry for myself).  

I consider myself a lifelong learner.  I am naturally curious, and I don’t need to wait to be told what that button does.  As soon as you aren’t looking, I’m gonna press it.  And I do not think we get a bad rap, but I do think we are sometimes taken for granted.

On a Friday at 3:30pm, I was asked to do a training on a new technology tool that was purchased for the district.  The training would be the following Monday.  I said, sure! And spent the weekend learning how to use the tool (without a class, students or data).

I don’t think the author of the request even thought that I might not know how to use it.  But there’s no one to give me training, no one to whom I can turn to ask for instructions.  Well, except Google.

It happened again today.  A group of teachers came to me, “We need this.”

I answered, “Oh, I don’t know how to do that.”  They didn’t respond.  They didn’t move.  They just stood there, waiting.  So I logged in, took a look around, and figured it out.  

It’s like they couldn’t accept the fact I didn’t know how to do something.  I mean, I am totally flattered.  But sometimes I get frustrated.  Maybe I feel taken for granted.  Maybe I just want someone to realize how hard I work. Maybe I just need someone to tell me I’m pretty.

I think what I need is for others to understand that there is no magic wand; I was not gifted at birth with the knowledge of all things technology.  I wasn’t even trained in technology. I am a person. I get overwhelmed.  I don’t know.  But I figure it out.  Sometimes it takes me a while, sometimes I get distracted, but I figure it out in the end.  

So be patient, be empathetic and be curious.  Also, Google it.  Because honestly, that’s what I am going to do when you aren’t looking.

Edit: You know what I really hate? When I finally teach myself to do something and then the next time I go to do it I can’t remember and I wander around the database, looking for clues, trying hard to pull memories that will not come...

Adults These Days: Stealing from the Internet

So yesterday at dinner my niece says, “Grownups always talk about kids being on their devices; look at your guys!” I looked up and around the dinner table (we were at Topp’t Pizza), and sure enough, all 4 adults at the table had their heads down, scrolling through their phones.  In my defense, I was doing research (I needed an Arizona Cardinals jersey for a gift.)

I looked at my gorgeous, freckled-faced angel and said, “Grownups are hypocrites.”  And we are.  I mean, kids these days?  Let talk about grownups these days.

One of the things we (I am speaking as a grownup) do that we know is wrong but we do it anyway is steal pictures from the internet.  Teachers are notorious at copyright infringement (although a lot of people do not understand the copyright laws, and I encourage you to really research it; they are more flexible than you think.)  As teachers, we are almost forced to break copyright laws.  I am not saying I have done it, but it was easy and cheap.

I mean, it’s not totally our fault.  Technology makes it so easy!  When I was planning a huge conference and Apple was coming, they were all like, you can’t use our images and stuff.  And I was all like, dude, it’s on Google…

Google, however, makes it easier NOT to steal pictures on the internet.  Did you know that with the advanced search option (which hardly any of us use because Google is so smart she IS an advanced search), you can filter your results based on user rights?  Additionally, there’s a site devoted to it at CreativeCommons.org.

With Technology making it easier to share and get your hands on information and primary resources, it’s our job as educators, and as grownups, to model good behavior.  So put your phones away, start giving credit to those pictures you use in your powerpoints and on your graphic organizers, and use Google’s advanced search options.

I swear, adults these days...

Catching Feels

I have been told, both in my role as director and in seeking my seat on the school board, that I have to have alligator skin.  I have to be able to take the verbal punch and stand up, brush myself off and move on.

So why is it that, in the professional world, there are so many decisions made based on whose feelings may or may not get hurt.  I mean, really?

Which is it?  Do we need alligator skin or do we need to make decisions based on whether or not a colleague might "take it the wrong way" and feel bad about him/herself.

How about neither.  I do not need alligator skin if people are responsible for their words and actions. No matter how angry, frustrated or hungry you are, you are still responsible for how you treat people.  And I still have a right to be upset.  Or not be upset.  Moreover, the decisions I make for students (or in your case, for your business) are not based on how others might feel about them.  If it makes someone look/feel like a bad teacher, maybe, just maybe, that person might consider some professional growth.  Or at least some reflection.

I am reminded of one of my favorite movies, The Invention of Lying.  No one can lie because it had not been invented yet.  Everyone spoke the absolute truth.  I often wish the world was like that.  Mostly because the things that come out of my mouth would be more socially acceptable.  It is important to be honest.  But just because one thinks it doesn't mean one has to say it.

I'm not saying walk up to anyone and tell them exactly how you feel.  But what I am saying is be honest with yourself first, and then be honest with others.  My bestie is one of the most honest people I know.  Does she hurt my feelings sometimes?  Yes.  Do I get over it?  Yes.  Am I a better person for having heard it?  Most of the time.

Imagine if we all had relationships where we could respectfully be honest with each other, make decisions because it's what's best, and not have to put on our alligator suits everyday.

Perhaps the next time we feel obligated to do or not do something, ask ourselves how we can better build the relationship we have with those it will affect.  Because let's face it, green isn't everyone's color.

The "S" Word

This all started when a teacher on Twitter used it to describe some kids she went to school with.  Having been through school myself, and teaching high school, I did not even flinch at the word.  But someone challenged her use of it.  Saying it was inappropriate. It seems that we were no longer allowed to call kids "smart".

Do I believe all kids are smart?  Do I fall for the book smarts versus street smarts?  Do I believe every kid is a different kind of smart?  I started this blog post awhile ago, ready to stand up for all the kids who liked hearing that they were smart.  I mean, how many songs are there about telling woman and girls they are beautiful, no matter what?  How is describing beauty, in its different forms, surface-level or down deep (sometimes really deep) different than saying, "Wow!  You are so smart!"

But then I stopped.  And reflected.  For a long time. (Almost a year to be exact.)  And I finally came to this conclusion:

She is the reason I tell kids they are smart.

Bella, Age 5

Because there is not a number of times I can tell this princess that she is pretty and smart that will block out the doubt that will creep into her beautiful mind when someone, one day, inevitably, calls her stupid.  Or dumb.  Or ugly.  Or weird...

I do not believe kids are bad.  I never call a kid bad.  Decisions are bad.  I believe evil cannot be created and, like darkness is simply the absence of light, bad is simply the absence of good.  But I will not stop calling kids smart.  If bad words have such a great power to change someone for the worse, I will not hesitate to believe that positive words can change kids for the better.  So I will call them smart.  Because they are. Or they will be.  Lord willing.  And teachers teaching.

This Time I Really AM Sorry

It was my sixth period class.  Their names were Keisha and Danielle.  Lovely girls, but to save their lives or the lives of their loved ones, they could NEVER. STOP. TALKING.

Since then I have learned about the power of proximity control and a good offense being the best defense, but I have also learned, in another lesson from my car, that there are kids who are going to talk no matter what.  And I know this, because I am going to speed.  No Matter What.

It's not that I hold any disrespectful for the law or authority, and it's not that I don't think that speed limits are a good idea (and that they are meant to save lives), it's just that, in the words of Ricky Bobby, I just wanna go fast.

You can tell me to stop speeding.  I will listen.  At least at first.  This thing is, I don't mean to do it most of the time.  I don't speed because I'm late; I just get distracted.  Or excited.  Or bored.

You can punish me.  I will feel it.  I have been pulled over about 50 times.  Ok, more than 50, but only like 51.  And not just for speeding.  I get pulled over for other traffic violations.  None of them are angry and most of them aren't even on purpose.  And none of them stopped me from doing it again.

Did you know you can pay a fee and then NOT get pulled over for 6 months and they will erase the record of getting the ticket?  Actually, you can get pulled over during that 6 months, you just can't get a ticket.  I know that for sure because the first time I did the 6 month probation thing, I got pulled over before my 6 months were up.  Twice.  But I didn't get a ticket either time.  So I am on my second 6 months for another ticket (which you can't do more than once in a 2 year period... unless it's close, and then you can, and I know because mine were like 16 months apart. And I did.)

You know what does work? Gentle, constant reminding and proximity control. When I see a cop I think speed and I check mine.  Even if I am not speeding.  I have been conditioned to do this.  My bestie, who is the best at gentle reminders, will say, "watch your speed" as often as I need it.  Without judgement and without threats.  I don't know if it annoys her but it doesn't annoy me.  I know I need constant reminding. 

Students don't talk during your lesson because they hate you.  They talk because they are excited, bored, distracted--all the reasons I speed.  They know it's wrong, and yes, even dangerous (talking during a fire drill always gets the "What if... and you couldn't hear because you were talking" speech). Walk over to them, lay a hand on their chair, their desk, their back.  Remind them, as Harry Wong would say, of the procedures everyday if you have to, of where they are, of what they are (supposed to be) doing. Be their bestie. Remind them without judgement, without threats.  Those don't work.  You can threaten to take my license away but I know if that happened all I have to do is not get caught driving (which, in all honesty, would be a GREAT motivator...) And I don't say that as a dare.  I say that because it's the truth. People drive every day on suspended licenses (I may have... Twice.))

Every time I get pulled over I am sorry and I didn't mean to.  When kids say that, they are telling the truth.  Instead of punishing, teach.  Help them learn to self-regulate.  Pavlov didn't threaten or beat the dog.  Teach them to condition themselves.  Before they become adults and breaking the rules costs actual money.  And points on your license.  Whatever that means.  

Maks, 6 Speed Manual, Turbo, 268 HP

This is Me: #SorryNotSorry

The greatest compliment I have ever received came from a teacher the first day of this school year.

"Hutch!" She waved.  "Have you seen Inside Out? I saw it and I was like, that's Kathleen Hutchinson!  You are Joy!"

I was flattered, nay, I was honored.  I had never thought of myself that way.  It's funny how others see us.  But, this may come as a shock, not everyone appreciates my... enthusiasm.  I am Joy.  I am Pinkie Pie.  I am funny, honest and energetic. I am loud, unapologetic and upbeat. However, more times than I have been compared to a Disney character in my job, I have been told to slow down, take it easy, pull back, cool it and tone it down.  I have been warned of burnout more than once. I have been told I'm too much, that I intimidate people.

Well, ya know what?  I AM NOT SORRY.  I may come across as silly, over-the-top or even dumb.  Sometimes I am.  I am a horrible speller and, until recently, I didn't know Julius Caesar was a real person (still unsure this is true.  Like REAL-real?  Maybe I knew this but it fell out of my head because I have to store way cooler stuff in there like song lyrics and movie quotes and fun facts I read online.)

Here's an honest confession: I GET NERVOUS.  People ask me: "how did you get up there in front over 800 people and be so energetic and fun!  I could never do that," they say.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE hearing myself talk.  It's my favorite sound in the world.  But I get so nervous in social situations that I just start talking, usually really quickly, and people mistake my awkwardness and inappropriateness for humor.  It's cool. Because the people that matter most know who and what I really am.

I am a teacher.  You might doubt my knowledge (I have like 5 college degrees) and you might doubt my skills (they are mad), but never doubt this: I care about kids. I will never back down, tone it down, slow down or simma' down (now) when it comes to students and their learning.  I ALWAYS want what is best for them.

If I don't fit your mold, that's fine.  I will find a mold one day.  Just like the Missing Piece.  And if not, I will, God willing, help students find their molds, what makes them happy, what makes them dance around, to shout and jump for joy.  Because, after all, isn't that what it's all about?