Share What You Learn
When I was a student I seldom enjoyed reading. Anything. Don't get me wrong, I was able to read at grade level. I understood what I read. But I wasn't passionate about any of it. I never asked for books for Christmas or my birthday and consequently rarely received them. And that remained true until I got to college. Once I got to college I was forced to spend a considerable amount of time with my face buried in books because it was college and the books were required. They were also really expensive and I figured I shouldn't let that money go to waste.
To this day, I have very particular tastes in the books that I read. I don't read mysteries or biographies or novels and books like that. I do have several Mathematics books that I have amassed over the years, some computer programming books, and a rather impressive collection of Theology texts including an inordinate number of books related to the Protestant Reformation. It wasn't that I didn't like reading. It was that I only enjoyed reading books about topics I liked.
Sadly, as a teacher I didn't use to read any books about my craft. That has changed in recent years (thankfully), and I have collected a fair amount of books about education in the last 5 years or so. But given that I have been teaching for nearly 19 years, 5 years isn't very impressive. But I am nonetheless glad that I have expanded my horizons these past few years. I have learned a great deal and made meaningful changes in my classroom as a result. Changes that have benefited both my students and myself.
I'm also not much of a photographer. My wife and I have a digital camera. Somewhere. And most of the pictures I take are pictures of my kids that I take on my phone and a few of them even find their way onto Facebook. Instagram had been around for quite some time when I joined. And the things I post aren't very creative. No sunsets or exotic meals. No insect close-ups or flower shots. No shots of what I wore to Prom last spring. I did once post a picture of a Steak-N-Shake menu from Tallahassee, FL but that was only to prove to the few students who followed me that Chocolate Coke is a real thing that you can really order it at certain establishments. It's also delicious.
Recently, I have begun to combine these two new hobbies of mine. One of the changes I made in my classroom over the last few years was to let students know what they would likely find different about my classroom compared to other classrooms and why. I kept them in the loop and they seemed to appreciate that. So I try to keep them in the loop more and more. One way that I do this is by posting passages from the books I read on Instagram so my students know that I am still learning and what I am learning about.
As I read, I am on the lookout for passages that I find either telling or inspiring. When I find one, I take the cap off of my yellow highlighter marker and highlight away. Then I awkwardly hold the book open with one hand and hold my phone in the other while I attempt to get everything lined up just right and for just long enough so I can take a picture of the highlighted text. Once the picture is captured I open the Instagram app on my phone and post the image with any relevant text and hashtags. The students who follow me on Instagram appreciate the posts. They will occasionally like the posts and comment on them. They even bring them up in class from time to time.
Recent books that have been featured on my Instagram page are Instant Relevance by Denis Sheeran, Shift This by Joy Kirr, and Reclaiming Our Calling by Brad Gustafson.
As educators, we want our students to be lifelong learners. Instagram posts of what I read are a simple and effective way to model lifelong learning for my students and to share with them the insights that I have gained from others. I encourage you to do the same.
To this day, I have very particular tastes in the books that I read. I don't read mysteries or biographies or novels and books like that. I do have several Mathematics books that I have amassed over the years, some computer programming books, and a rather impressive collection of Theology texts including an inordinate number of books related to the Protestant Reformation. It wasn't that I didn't like reading. It was that I only enjoyed reading books about topics I liked.Sadly, as a teacher I didn't use to read any books about my craft. That has changed in recent years (thankfully), and I have collected a fair amount of books about education in the last 5 years or so. But given that I have been teaching for nearly 19 years, 5 years isn't very impressive. But I am nonetheless glad that I have expanded my horizons these past few years. I have learned a great deal and made meaningful changes in my classroom as a result. Changes that have benefited both my students and myself.
I'm also not much of a photographer. My wife and I have a digital camera. Somewhere. And most of the pictures I take are pictures of my kids that I take on my phone and a few of them even find their way onto Facebook. Instagram had been around for quite some time when I joined. And the things I post aren't very creative. No sunsets or exotic meals. No insect close-ups or flower shots. No shots of what I wore to Prom last spring. I did once post a picture of a Steak-N-Shake menu from Tallahassee, FL but that was only to prove to the few students who followed me that Chocolate Coke is a real thing that you can really order it at certain establishments. It's also delicious.Recently, I have begun to combine these two new hobbies of mine. One of the changes I made in my classroom over the last few years was to let students know what they would likely find different about my classroom compared to other classrooms and why. I kept them in the loop and they seemed to appreciate that. So I try to keep them in the loop more and more. One way that I do this is by posting passages from the books I read on Instagram so my students know that I am still learning and what I am learning about.
As I read, I am on the lookout for passages that I find either telling or inspiring. When I find one, I take the cap off of my yellow highlighter marker and highlight away. Then I awkwardly hold the book open with one hand and hold my phone in the other while I attempt to get everything lined up just right and for just long enough so I can take a picture of the highlighted text. Once the picture is captured I open the Instagram app on my phone and post the image with any relevant text and hashtags. The students who follow me on Instagram appreciate the posts. They will occasionally like the posts and comment on them. They even bring them up in class from time to time.
Recent books that have been featured on my Instagram page are Instant Relevance by Denis Sheeran, Shift This by Joy Kirr, and Reclaiming Our Calling by Brad Gustafson.
As educators, we want our students to be lifelong learners. Instagram posts of what I read are a simple and effective way to model lifelong learning for my students and to share with them the insights that I have gained from others. I encourage you to do the same.
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