On the long drive home from Spring Break, in between audio books and music, I found myself thinking about how a classroom teacher approaches advocacy these days. How does one leverage the potential to do good and advocate, while keeping content professional and tasteful?
In the 21st century, technology and social media make it so easy to share the many wonderful things that happen in the classroom on a daily basis. Years ago, I started a website and Twitter feed for the football team I coach and that led to a classroom website and Twitter feed. Students and parents seem to like it because they have easy access to see what is happening in class. Students mention that it is fun to look back and compare what they were doing in 9th grade in contrast to what they have accomplished as seniors. Currently, I am contemplating expanding into Facebook and Instagram. I believe this degree of transparency brings creditability to my program, serves as a showcase to inspire creativity/collaboration, and highlights an asset within the district.
In contrast, in many conversations with teachers over the years, I find educators in general are very reluctant to "toot their own horn". Others in my district are not advocating like I do either. Curiosity causes me to wonder. Being humble is a great characteristic but how can one maintain the characteristic while at the same time use technology to amplify effectiveness in the 21st century?
Very curious to hear your thoughts on this topic? How do you advocate for your program? Please weigh in! I would love to hear how you leverage advocacy to create an advantage.