Happy Friday, friends!

I hope this message finds you well. I hope everyone is having a fantastic holiday season. If you’re not already subscribed to the EduMatch newsletter, Mandy just knocked it out of the park with a great edition about preparing for the holiday break with compassion for students that received rave reviews. Check it out here.

I’m flirting with the idea of going to a bi-monthly format, whichich could allow for more in-depth articles and discussions. What are your thoughts? Feel free to reply to this email if you have an opinion either way.

On a similar note, I recently shared this on Facebook:

“In the past I didn’t understand why people would be resistant to doing things like Twitter chats and joining educational groups on social media. I didn’t understand why people would tell me they didn’t have time for these things, when you could do them while standing in line at the store. Now I get it. Folks were tired lol. They didn’t have the bandwidth to try new things. Sorry.

It truly is a game-changer though. I’ll still advocate for it.”

As folks say, “life be lifing” sometimes. This week was filled with high highs and low lows. At one point, I saw a great opportunity come across my inbox, one that I would have jumped on ten years ago, but this time I had to pass on it. But that last part…

I will always advocate for folks to connect with others and build their PLN. Selfishly, I’m going to dig in the crates for some motivation to perhaps dip my toe back in after recharging from break. Here is “Gone Fishin’: Reflection on Social Media” from nearly a decade ago.

Gone Fishin’: Reflection on Social Media (2014)

Disclaimer: This post is going in a very different direction than usual. Not everyone will agree, and that is totally okay. However, I wanted needed to chip in with my own two cents.

First of all, let me say that my PLN absolutely ROCKS!!!

I have been having a blast over the past year, while learning alongside great teachers all over the world. The collaborations have been excellent. I am also thankful for the times when we have had those courageous conversations, for these are the moments when I get to re-examine my thinking. We all need to be exposed to different perspectives in order to see situations from many angles. It is in this spirit that I write this blog post.

Please keep in mind that I am dissecting ideas, and not attacking individuals. For this reason, I will not mention any names or specific blog posts, except for those that have inspired me in a positive way. The views below are my own, and I am not speaking one else’s behalf. With that being said, let’s begin.

The Fish

Rafranz Davis wrote a phenomenal blog post this past weekend, which got my gears turning. I told her that I loved it so much, that I could “blog about [her] blog.” At the time, I was joking, but later that week, I saw some very different posts being spread so virally that now I’m dead serious.

Rafranz is totally right. There is a weird Twitter dynamic in the world of educational technology. Some of my other friends and PLN members have mentioned it, too, such as Elle Deyamport and Angela Watson. They both utilized a metaphor that I really like, being fish in a pond.

To continue the extended metaphor, our networks would be the pond, and we educators are all the fish, splashing around. I, personally, am thrilled to be a fish in the pond, swimming in this good salt water…or fresh water…whichever is in a pond. Obviously, I’m not a science teacher.

There are all different kinds of fish in our pond. I like to consider myself an exotic, quirky fish, if there is such a thing. Maybe a little red one, swimming in the blue water…a Haitian fish.

Anyway, back to the point. There are guppies. There are goldfish. There are dolphins (I know there are no dolphins in ponds…humor me, people). That’s what makes our pond so great! Fish come in all different varieties. In all honesty, the size of the fish (i.e. how “known” you are) really doesn’t matter. You’re a fish. You’re already a rockstar. But since fish size is a reality in the lovely world of educational technology (and most other fields), I’m not going to ignore the elephant in the room.

To loosely paraphrase Angela, sometimes you may be a guppy in one pond and a dolphin in another. There is nothing wrong with being a little fish, a medium fish, or a big fish. We are what we are, let’s face it. It’s all good in the hood…er, the pond…however, lately, I’ve been reading some things that have made me go, “hmmm???”

There is no need for me to “call anyone out,” or for any rachet behavior of any kind. This is not Worldstar Hip Hop, thus I will not mention anyone specifically. The point is to address a certain way of thinking that goes far beyond a few blog posts. Many people seem to share this philosophy, so I wanted to chime in and offer some food for thought. Fish food, if you will.

We can agree, we can agree to disagree…it’s all good baby, baby. I have love for my educators either way. With that being said…

Here We Go!!!

Twitter is a social medium. Let me slow that down and bring it back one more time…social…medium. Those two terms would lead us to believe that it is a tool for collaboration, oui? Twitter and other social media have brought me out of teaching in isolation and into 20-freaking-14, allowing me to collaborate with, and bounce ideas off, educators all around the world. In other words, using social media has put me into a new pond.

(BTW, here are some ideas to get you going if you want to rock social media for collaboration.)

The way I approach Twitter (and other SM) is that I am here to learn. I am here to share. I am here to grow…with you. However, lately I’ve seen a few blog posts, with the writers sharing their criteria for following back. I totally respect that everyone has their own methods. Yours may be different from mine, and that is A-OK.

However, I’ve been seeing one recurring word that doesn’t sit quite right with me. This word is, “impress.” A lot of times, people say they won’t follow back if they’re not impressed. I’m baffled. I’ve heard this term enough over the past week that I would be remiss if I didn’t address it.

What, pray tell, are the criteria for “impressive?” If I have less than 1000 followers, am I not impressive? If I don’t have 50 million accolades listed on my bio, am I not impressive?

Personally, I’m impressed simply by the fact that you’re on Twitter, trying to better yourself for your students. The last time I checked, we were all fish. Do we not have fins to swim? Do we not have gills to breathe (ok, science teachers, I know…just work with me)? And since we are in a magical pond where fish can change species, did we not all start out as guppies?

Don’t get me wrong…I have criteria, too, for when I will follow back. Obviously, you can’t follow every single person who follows you, or your timeline will be complete junk. I made that mistake on my first Twitter account. But, what is junk? To me, the voice of a fellow fish will never be junk. Junk is that spammy stuff that pollutes our beautiful pond.

***(Random sidenote: Dolphins can learn from guppies as much as guppies can learn from dolphins. I’ve met some great dolphins who know this, and some great guppies who had the confidence to insist upon both listening and being heard.)***

Here are my criteria for following back, in a nutshell:

1. Are they clearly involved in education? (If yes, follow back.)

It’s that simple. Every now and then, someone flies under my radar, but that is an oversight. I apologize profusely to anyone whom I may have missed. That being said, every educator fish is welcome in my pond. The more, the merrier.

To reiterate, I’m not attacking individuals, just dissecting ideas here. I’ve heard the argument that people’s streams will get diluted by info they don’t want, etc. Again, I believe that everyone has a voice and something valuable to bring to the table. In addition, you never know what guppy is going to become your “personal dolphin” someday, i.e. have a great impact in your life. I cannot begin to tell you all how many seemingly random strangers I have connected with online, who have come to play a major role in my life.

However, I do understand that there are certain people you want to connect with more closely, which is hard to do when you follow hundreds or thousands of people. That, my friends, is the beauty of Twitter lists. I just created one with about 100 of my personal dolphins…close friends in my PLN with whom I want to stay tightly connected. I set this list to private, and I check it frequently. It’s the best of both worlds. I can now have that ever-growing pond, while still having that VIF (Very Important Fish) feed. Ok, I’ll stop with the fishy metaphors now.

Nobody has to use my methods. Who am I to tell you who/how to follow? However, as a friendly fellow fish (I totally lied about stopping with the metaphors), I wanted to share what works for me.

Conclusion

Student voice is a concept that has been gaining ground in terms of best practices for instruction. In my district, teachers cannot be evaluated as “distinguished,” unless they give every student the opportunity to be heard. To me, this is phenomenal! Why are we not treating each other with the same respect? We need to start knocking down these walls, and shattering glass ceilings.

I’m not going to mince words. Like I said, I am all for collaboration, and will continue to actively pursue and facilitate those connections. I have love for all fish, regardless of size, but I personally do not have any interest in “impressing” anyone. There are plenty of other fish in the sea, willing to work together for the sake of all our students.

Guppies. Goldfish. Dolphins. Who knew that we fish could make so much noise? The funny thing is that Twitter is just a tool! It really isn’t that deep…at least it shouldn’t be. We are here to listen. We are here to share. We are here to do right by our students. Make your own pond, and fill it with all kinds of fish. Don’t forget your personal dolphins 😉

Some awesome quotes to leave you with:

What is your $0.02? Chime in below in the comments.

TikTok Post of the Week

This week, I jumped on TikTok with all kinds of randomness. In the spirit of finding your fish, I shared my moment of gratitude for my teammates. Sometimes the little things are the ones that last. Thank you to my work fam for all the love and pouring into me over the years!

@sarahdateechur

Much love and appreciation to my work fam 💜

What are you grateful for in your professional life? Hit reply and let me know.

Finally, if you missed our sold-out Navigating AI Together: An EduMatch Exploration event, recordings from the event can be found here.

 Alright folks, that does it for me. Thanks so much for reading!

Have a video to share or interested in being a guest blogger? Email me at [email protected].

Stay connected, stay curious, and let the sharing begin!

Best,

Sarah

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