Fear . . . oh how it can halt learning and communication.

I've just stumbled across a FANTASTIC post by Kindergarten teacher Matt Gomez and I found it both inspirational and infuriating all at the same time.

Read Matt's post here.

Matt's blog talks about how he used facebook in his Kindergarten classroom to inform and stay connected with the parents of his students. He successfully used this common tool to reach directly into his students homes! Read what his parents had to say about the facebook page (click here)and see examples of how he used it (click here). His blog then goes on to tell how his school district put the kibosh on it because of fear - fear of comments.



Let me rant... Comments bring us together. Comments make us think critically. Comments stretch us to do more, and to learn more. Comments open us up to new undiscovered possibilities. To permit comments is to say 'I value what you think'.

Comments bring me to another blog I stumbled across today . . . my own superintendents blog. While I commend our highest school official with his first attempt into the 'blog-o-shpere' I noticed something missing from his blog - comments, or rather, the ability to comment.

Let me rant (again)... Social media is meant to be SOCIAL! The ability for interactive dialogue to happen is the major component of social media. A blog without the ability to provide those comments is nothing more than a webpage, or a digital newsletter. So Mr. Pepper, if you ever stumble across this, know that I encourage you to open up yourself to social media. Communicate with it, learn from it, support your teachers who use it, and hopefully then you will discover how powerful it truly is.

I wish Matt all the best with his efforts to inform his district. I certainly hope they will change their minds sooner, rather than later. As a mom, I would love nothing more than to see directly into my son's classroom. Matt, know that you have inspired me to look into doing the same. I'll be following your lead and looking to start up a facebook group for my own class.

Peace Project - our small part.

PHEW!!!

It was down to the wire, but we were able to get our Peace Project finished just in time to be included in Mr. Ferguson's Peace Day Project.

Here are my Grade 1's with their message of peace.

Planning Projects - up first ... The Peace Project

In case I haven't said it before but I am so excited to be in a classroom once again! I enjoyed the last 4 years I spent in the library at Harwin Elementary, yet I have missed and even craved having "my" own students. One of the reasons I want "my" own students is for project work and this year I'll be off and running with some collaborative projects. The first project my class will be participating in is called the Peace Project.

For teachers wanting to be a part of global projects the first step is to get connected. We need to network and contribute to the larger community. It doesn't matter if you use facebook, twitter, or blogs just reach out outside of your own comfort zone (your own school and district) and start connecting.

How did I hear about the Peace Project? My FABULOUS twitter network! I have participated in a number of collaborative projects over the years and come to 'know' teacher leaders in a number of different countries. Bob Greenberg is one of those educators. Bob sent me an email about the project and I knew I was in.

Time lines will be tight. School hasn't started and I need to have 21 seconds of video ready for sharing by September 16. Students won't even be assigned classes until September 9th. That'll leave me only a week with students to get this done.

I am planning on introducing the project with a few books. I'll be reading Todd Parr's "The Peace Book", Karen Katz's "Can You Say Peace", and Shelia Hamanaka's "Peace Crane". Together the students and I will brainstorm ideas for our video. Then we will upload our finished project to a shared dropbox and students in Garrett Ferguson's grade 4 class will piece the videos together. The finished project will be ready for International Peace Day on September 21.




Stay tuned!