So my intention was to write daily until I “got busy.” Well, that didn’t take long. With the schedule change, there was a lot of time dedicated to shuffling plans around and making dates for lessons and things of that nature. But today, the Friday of the first week of school felt like a disaster.
See, the internet is an incredible resource. It is is available to google lesson plans for virtually anything and there it is. With small adjustments to your own ideals, you can find amazing lessons from all over the US from incredibly talented teachers. The best part is that most of it is free. It has been a lifesaver when I have been stuck debating on the layout of a worksheet or creating a step-by-step lesson for many levels of learning (low, mid, and accelerated) and fusing them together to find what fits for your own part
The bad thing about the internet is that even the most innocent and pure intentions can be skewed to ruin you. Last year, my personal experience was going to nail shop and having a student tweet a photo of me mid-eyebrow wax. No lie. Why would anyone want to take a photo of something like that is beyond me. It was a Saturday when I got waxed. Monday morning, I had a student tell me “Hey, you got your eyebrows waxed on Saturday. I saw a picture.” I never felt so naked to the world. Truthfully, everyone waxes their eyebrows nowadays. But, my grandmother always insisted on grooming being a private affair. I mean, waxing means you have hair. Hair in places that you don’t want hair. Not cool.
But this week’s experience was no waxing matter.
This week a former student of the school I teach at got a hold of a photo of teacher’s in their personal experience. There was alcohol and smiles. The photo ended up trending on social media after only one hour online. The photo was a happy one. Everyone was smiling and everyone had a shot glass in their hands. So the student created buzz with it. I was informed of it after that first hour and contacted the student directly and informed him that it was no party. It was a funeral. It was a funeral for a man who brought love and smiles to one person who was very near and dear to each of the teachers in the photo. The shot glasses were filled with alcohol he loved but we didn’t particularly enjoy. We did that day, though. We did because we did it in his honor, for fighting a valiant fight and for loving our friend so dearly.
None of those details matter when the glass wall that you attempt to shield your personal life from students crumbles to the ground. The attack on our character, the misperception of that one single moment in time, all of it was destroyed in that single misconstrued image. If it isn’t clear by now, at this moment it is forever cemented: every. single. thing. on social media is up for judgment of a teacher by their students. So if social media is your thing, never let them connect you to it.
fifthyearteacher 