I sat curled up on my favorite chair. The living room was blanketed in sun and I could see the faint steam floating from my coffee as it sat on the window sill. I clicked to open my accounts, first Google+, then Twitter and finally Facebook. I fell into what has become my usual morning summer routine. I clicked through my notifications on my Google+. I reshared a few, I pinned a few and those pinned resources would be tweeted out automatically. I headed over to my Facebook page and did the same…like and reshare and maybe even comment on a few. I opened my email and saw an email notification for one of the blogs I followed letting me know there was a new post. I clicked on it and headed over to to read the post. My bloggy friend shared a story about her daughter. I smiled as I read her words. This post reminded me of other stories and the journeys I had gotten to know her through. I scrolled down to the comment section and I began to type. I shared with her my thoughts, my feelings, my words. I closed the tab and headed back over to Google+ to read some more posts and collect some more ideas.
Suddenly I stopped and stared at the screen.
An emptiness sat inside me.
What the heck was I doing I thought?
What the heck have I been doing all summer for that matter?
All summer I had been consumed with gathering and sharing. It left me full of more information than I had ever gathered and learned before. My knowledge was deeper and richer than it ever before. And I had even made a few really incredible connections with some amazingly educators.
I paused.
An emptiness was still there.
I thought about the emptiness. I wondered why it was there. Why was I suddenly feeling it? What had changed for me over the summer? Then it came to to me. I had stopped reading blogs, I had stopped commenting, I had stopped engaging with others and I had stopped connecting with people.
My thoughts reminded me about a conversation with an educator on Google+. A conversation about how we share our information, how we respond to the information we interact with and how educators interact with information. Then how very different the expectations we have for our students and their interactions with information and others in this space are.
I think I need to change how I am doing things.
I remembered reading a post by a friend on Facebook. A friend of hers, Elan Morgan (a quite amazing woman in my opinion and for more reasons than just this suggestion) had suggested no longer just “liking” posts on Facebook and instead leaving words. That just “liking” posts is leaving us unconnected with each other. Leaving comments, words, reactions feelings connects us better.
Maybe they were on to something.
I sat at my districts Opening Day. One of our district administrators shared Drew Dudley’s TED Talk. Drew shared his lolli pop moment. He explained that Lolli pop moments are about connecting, interacting, engaging with each other. These lollipop moments are about valuing the impact we can have on each others lives. These moments are about changing one persons understanding of what they are capable of, changing one persons understanding of how much people care about them, changing one persons understanding of how powerful and agent for change they can be. When we participate in these moments do this you’ve changed our and their everything.
It suddenly all came together for me. I figured out what had been nagging at me, what was leaving me feeling this way.
Educators want to make their students givers of lollipop pops. We want to teach them the power of their voices and the power of their words. We want our students to put themselves out there. We want them to connect with others, enrich each other’s life’s, inspire each other and create conversations.
Why aren’t many educators doing what they are asking their students to do?
Educators are the best curators of information and ideas I know! They visit websites and blogs and pin or book mark the information and ideas. They share out, retweet, plus information and like ideas but then they just move on. When we do this we fail to do the very thing we expect their students to do. We fail everyday to be each other’s lollipop moment.
It is time for us to stop being only the best curators, idea sharers and information spreaders. It is time for us to take time, stop, leave words for each other when we read a post. It is time to add thoughts instead of just pulsing, retweeting and liking. It is time for us to take the extra moment to share with each other our thoughts, share our words of encouragement with each other, share our praises, share about how something made us feel. It is time for us to become the great models our students need in this space. It is time for us to practice what we teach. It is time to expect of ourselves what we expect of our students. It is time for us to be each other’s lollipop moments everyday!
Let me be the first to leave you words, kind friend! Sharing and connecting may take more time, may take us out of our comfort zones, but that is where the magic happens! Educators must be bold, be brave, and be a model of creators and contributors for students!
My goodness my beautiful friend. I knew you were an incredible creator and sharer of all things EdTech in your own right but I am absolutely blown away by your words, wisdom and the gracefulness in which you share them. Just another reason for me to adore you more! Thank you so much!
Carrie, I think of that question you posed pretty often: Why aren’t many educators doing what they are asking their students to do?
It’s a tough one. I wrestle with it daily. Over the summer, I decided to comment on one blog post a day – and got into the habit! But some of the other ideas I’m asking students to do (find a mentor for their genius hour project, for example) would be very difficult for me to do – and I work at trying, at least… I guess that’s important. I love seeing how your blog has grown and you’ve really come out of your shell online and in the district. You are working at doing what you’re asking students to do, and we can SEE it! Keep it up – you are role modeling for the rest of us in the district, and out of it! Enjoy the HECK out of your 2014-2015 school year!!!
Joy…. I am actually at a loss for words. This single comment has just touched me so very deeply. You are such an amazing advocate and role model for your students and what you inspire and push them to do. You may think you are not doing what you expect your students to do with mentoring. I say you do that every time you encourage another educator to take risks, share more, connect with others. I love that you took time to comment on others posts. It is such a meaningful act that really does so much for those of us that share our words with others. Thank you so much, so very much. Thank you so much throughout teary eyes and snotty nose. Thank you for your words of encouragement and love for my craft. Thank you!!!! XOXOXO