I used to do both and then I started getting published and then I started sharing those publications and over time there is quite a lot of my writing out there…. It was a thing of pride, indeed. It also helped make me a better teacher for my students. But then something happened. The impact of social media on the kids’ brains starting with remote learning (2020) hasn’t been the same as access to social media before. I have stopped sharing, and if publishing, I prefer anthologies and nothing online. In fact, I think about shutting my website each year. There is nothing out there in my writing nor my website that I can’t stand by. But, these students and sometimes their families, see educators (and others who may post any content online) less and less as human being. With Tik Tok challenges abound, it makes it very difficult. Perhaps a pseudonym? I don’t know. It’s a challenge that I didn’t experience before 2019.
Everything changed in my classroom in 2020 as well - a disconnect from classroom community and increasing distraction. I haven't experienced the targeting that other online content creators have from parents and administration, but I know it's out there. An administrator told me a few years ago: Read everything you write out loud like it's on the six o'clock news.
I used to do both and then I started getting published and then I started sharing those publications and over time there is quite a lot of my writing out there…. It was a thing of pride, indeed. It also helped make me a better teacher for my students. But then something happened. The impact of social media on the kids’ brains starting with remote learning (2020) hasn’t been the same as access to social media before. I have stopped sharing, and if publishing, I prefer anthologies and nothing online. In fact, I think about shutting my website each year. There is nothing out there in my writing nor my website that I can’t stand by. But, these students and sometimes their families, see educators (and others who may post any content online) less and less as human being. With Tik Tok challenges abound, it makes it very difficult. Perhaps a pseudonym? I don’t know. It’s a challenge that I didn’t experience before 2019.
Everything changed in my classroom in 2020 as well - a disconnect from classroom community and increasing distraction. I haven't experienced the targeting that other online content creators have from parents and administration, but I know it's out there. An administrator told me a few years ago: Read everything you write out loud like it's on the six o'clock news.