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.
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