This morning I read a tweet by @e_shep who quoted “Inventing Creativity” http://bit.ly/b2kYT The true pain of being passionate is encountering people who are not.
I think that’s a true statement because so many of us who are passionate are often perceived as dogmatic, or intense, or our passionate contribution to a conversation is misconstrued as “it has to be my way.” One reason I tweet is because I find like-minded individuals on twitter who are also passionate about teaching, learning, technology, students, quality interactions and real, honest, direct and sharing/caring relationships. So many times I have seen people who do not know each other face to face express incredibly kind sentiments to one another, and I have marveled at the ability of strangers to connect so deeply across this microblogging platform.
Today I tweeted out a question: “In thinking of passionate educators, are people on Twitter more passionate educators than you typically encounter day to day?” I didn’t mean it as an either/or question, but as more of a continuum, or to help me think about the passion behind the educators on twitter. In 140 characters, I certainly didn’t say all I was thinking, and the responses I got broadened my thinking even more.
Here’s a sampling:
- UltimateTeacher@paulawhite I love what I do, and I happen to work with some people who don’t feel the same…twittering allows me to help and be helped
- cwebbtech@paulawhite re: Passionate teachers – I think the teachers who are on Twitter tend to “share” their passion more frequently-globally. (And I’m appreciative of that sharing!)
- icklekid@paulawhite hard to say if educational twitters are more passionate but tweeting and sharing ideas makes me more passionate about education!
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chollingsworth@paulawhite I think teachers on twitter also have a passion for learning, collaborating, and improving education9 minutes ago from TweetDeck
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blenna@paulawhite i thnk tchers who tweet r life long learners &love learning from others passionate could b good descript. thax for though bomb25 minutes ago from TwitterGadget
alexragoneRT @melhutch: @paulawhite passion can seem more evident when you are excited and learning so twitter people seem more passionate.
tbrewster@paulawhite Educators that use Twitter are passionate about sharing ideas, and modeling 21st Century technology skills for their students.
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rrmurry@paulawhite … I’m thought of as a “rebel” at school, because I support tech for learning instead of a mgmnt tool.30 minutes ago from TwitterFon
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rrmurry@paulawhite This statement is why I am on Twitter. The passion and a sense of being among peers. At school of 100+ tchrs, I’m alone…32 minutes ago from TwitterFon
irasocol@paulawhite Not sure teachers on Twitter are more passionate, but they are more aggressive about learning and finding new ideas.
melhutch@paulawhite passion can seem more evident when you are excited and learning so twitter people seem more passionate- others can be just as p.
jennyluca@paulawhite Maybe so, but I do work with passionate educators who don’t use social tools yet.
kdumont@paulawhite – I think the main difference is where the area of passion lies. So I think not neccesarily.
JoHart@paulawhite ….. maybe more aware of own needs to keep learning/changing to meet student needs???
klandmiles@paulawhite re passionate educators, I think we are passionate learners, which makes us passionate educators.
- JoHart@paulawhite more passionate abt educating in different & e- ways to meet student needs – not necessarily more passionate as educators .. …
suzcomptime@paulawhite My contact with educators tends to be more “surface”. Perhaps twitter opens a method of sharing and collaboration on a diff lev
jackiegerstein@paulawhite Passion is a natural by-product for those who “get” & use emerging technologies for learning, teaching, expression, creativity
haretek@paulawhite I work with a school full of extremely passionate and dedicated educators, only one of which is using Twitter.
history_geek@paulawhite I’d like to think so!
So what I’m sharing is that it’s not that teachers on Twitter are MORE passionate than other educators. Teachers who are passionate about teaching and learning are everywhere and show those passions in lots of ways. Those of us who do it on Twitter may simply be more overt or public about it in this particular venue.
P.S. and being limited to 140 characters is probably a good thing for many of us!
Thanks for sharing your reflection! I had some thoughts about Ed’s tweet and just couldn’t get my thoughts together with clarity to write anything at the time. I think that the responses you received are quite interesting and refreshing. It’s great to have a chance to connect with and hear from other passionate teachers through these media tools. I often feel like the “black sheep” at my school when I get excited and passionate about learning something new that will help my students. I guess it’s the plight of the passionate to keep our own fire alive while igniting the fires of those around us. I am looking forward to reading more of your posts!
When I wrote the blogpost I didn’t imagine it would spark this kind of response, but that was certainly the intent. My truest desire would be that each person’s passion ignites anothers regardless of what endeavor it might be toward. Think of what an empowering world it would be if everyone you encountered reignited your passion! I think that is the draw of Twitter for many – being close to another spark.
It’s very difficult to find good passionate educators. The education system would be a lot better off with more passionate and competent teachers. Thanks for sharing.
As always a pleasure reading your blog. Very well written post. Thank you for sharing.