I Can't Work With My PLN!

It happened again! I was in the middle of an amazing chat (this time it was #nctechat), talking to incredible educators, when suddenly I was overcome by the urge to throw my head back and groan loudly enough for my husband in the other room to hear me, “Why can’t I work with my PLN?!?”

I know, I am not the first person to feel this way. I am definitely not the first person to say it, and I am probably not even the first person to consider opening up my own school so I can make this dream become a reality... I can see it now…But enough of daydreams, back to the purpose of this blog.

As fate would have it, the topic for the #nctechat was, you guessed it, PLN!

People were sharing what a PLN is to them, the benefits, whether or not Ss should have a PLN (or SLN), and some ways they have continued to build their PLNs over the summer. 

About half way through the chat, the amazing Kristin Ziemke (@KristinZiemke) shared her thoughts about the fact that faculty meetings are often left out when discussing PLN.  She also suggested that this omission was due to the lack of choice with regard to who we actually work with day to day.

This was when I initially howled and said to myself, “See this is why I should work with my PLN!” 

But then I started thinking and came to a different conclusion: I can’t work with my PLN, I shouldn’t work with my PLN, it is a good thing I don’t work directly with my PLN.

Here are my reasons why:

Fantasy Football 

In professional sports like football, baseball, soccer, basketball, coaching staffs try to put together the best possible team to win a championship every year. In fantasy football and baseball you the fan get to put together your “perfect” team, and based on the points earned and lost by players, someone wins “the pot.” Now I may be biased, but I have to say that when I first thought about getting to teach with my Fantasy PLN Team, my reaction was, “We would smoke everyone!”  (Just kidding, but seriously…)

And then as I thought more about the whole What If Teachers Were Treated Like Professional Athletes scenario, I didn’t like how things were playing out in my mind.  I mean, yes, I love the idea of getting paid like a professional athlete (think of all the books I could buy for my students and the conferences I could go to without batting an eye!), but who would truly win here? Me? The teachers? The students at my championship school only? No, I’m not ok with that!  In order for all of us to “win,” every child should receive the best education possible, and that means that we have spread ourselves out and not become a clique that only helps our own.

Isolationism  

Countries have tried it in the past. They say to themselves, “We don’t need anyone else, we have everything we need right here! Our scholars are the best and the brightest and everyone is like-minded and wants the same things. Let’s just close our ports and gates and do our own thing!”

Yeah, that has never really worked out…to my knowledge. 

And no, I do not think that if I got to work with my PLN that we would shut out the rest of the world, but there is something to be said about only being surrounded by people who think like you vs. having dissenters in your midst from time to time.  People who challenge you make you fight harder for what you want and believe.  They also (should) force you to continue to check your thinking and make sure you still agree with yourself (yes I have conversations with myself about my thinking, don’t you?)

Fantasy vs. Reality 

We all have them. Fantasies are what keep us going or allow us to escape from a bad moment or day, but sometimes getting what you wished for isn’t as good as it was when you were only imagining it.  I remember when I was in middle school and Leonardo DiCaprio was my end all, be all (don’t judge). What if that fantasy had come true? I would have had to deal with paparazzi, no privacy, and girls throwing themselves all over MY boyfriend, no thank you! Plus, I had no idea who this person was in real life, only his public persona and that tells you SO much about a person! 

So how does this relate to teaching with my PLN? On Twitter and Voxer and Blogs and Periscope I get to interact with my PLN when it is best for me.  I typically get the best version of other people because they are interacting when it is the best for them also.  They have time to think about their answers, polish their responses, and aren’t having a conversation with me moments after a parent wrote them a nasty email, a child called them something they have to look up on Urban Dictionary, and they have not been able to go to the bathroom since 7 am and it is now 2:38 pm.  And what if I find out that my most favorite tweep habitually forgets to refill the copier with paper?!?

Some things are just better left as a fantasy.

Share the Wealth 

I think the biggest reason I can’t work with my PLN is that I believe it is our responsibility to spread out and share the wealth of knowledge and positivity we receive from one another to others who are not connected…yet.  If we were all at the same school, who would infect the rest of the education community with the Twitter Bug, or Voxer Virus, or Periscope Parasite (ok these sound bad, but I hope you get my point.)?   

By not working directly with each other, we are also exposing ourselves to other ideas and ways of doing things that we can bring back to our PLN like hunters and gatherers.  There is always a new idea out there (even unconnected educators have them (THAT IS A JOKE)). And even if all you bring back one day is what not to do, it’s a learning experience!

Lastly, by teaching in different schools and different districts, states, and countries, we provide our students with other classes and schools to connect with around the globe! It would be a pretty sad Mystery Skype if your only options were the students down the hall…but a pretty funny Mystery Vox (hmm may have to try that one…)

So while there is a part of me that will always fantasize about opening a school where my dream team PLN can teach in positive (if there is such a thing) isolation and not have to deal with the negative naysayers and the dreaded Ttwwadi Monster, I know deep down I can't work with my PLN in the same building... but thanks to social media and being connected, I also know we never have to work apart. 

Disclaimer: This post was written using hyperbole, sarcasm and humor. 

We Must...

Three weeks ago our 1-year-old Olde English Bulldogge, Copper, could not get up.  He wanted to, but he simply couldn’t without our help.  So after we got him upstairs, my husband and I immediately called the vet and took him in to be seen. 

The vet took a look at Copper and said he thought it had something to do with either his back or hips, and after getting x-rays taken the following day, it was confirmed that Copper was born with a genetic defect that had caused bone-on-bone rubbing when he walked, ran, sat, played…did anything a dog enjoys (besides sleeping) and deserves to be able to do pain free. 

This grinding of bones, as you can imagine, and as we witnessed, resulted in a great deal of pain for Copper, and as I watched our “baby” (Jeff and I do not have children yet) struggle, I hurt for him.  What was even worse than knowing he was in pain, however, was the fact that we had never even known he was suffering until he couldn’t “fake it” anymore.

That’s right, our playful, wiggly, never-met-someone-he-did-not-like puppy had been finding ways to cope, or get by, for a while it seemed.  The x-rays showed enough muscle atrophy in his left leg to support the theory this was not a sudden occurrence, but something that he had been going for quite some time. 

Now I have to say at this moment that I am what we teachers would call a helicopter parent when it comes to my pooch.  He gets nightly tick checks, daily walks, weekly baths, and I would be probably 50 pounds lighter if I paid as much attention to my own diet as I do to Copper’s.  My point being, we are vigilant pet owners, but we missed this.

Copper didn’t want to complain or be a bother.  Instead he learned to tuck his leg up when he wanted to lay down, to barely put any weight on his left leg when he went for a quick jog with me (he usually pulled me along), sit with his legs out to the side... It was all so obvious once we were made aware of the situation.

And then the questions started pouring out. What do we do about it?  How do we fix the problem? How do we help Copper?

We got our answers from the first orthopedic surgeon we saw.  He told me we had three options:

1. Manage his pain with medication until it was no longer feasible and then we could put him down
2. FHO (the removal of the part of the femur that was rubbing against the hip), but he warned us that often that did not work
3. A full hip replacement to the tune of $6,000

We went for a second opinion.

This next surgeon educated us on what was happening with Copper by bringing out models of hips and showing us other x-rays.  He discussed our options and asked us questions to determine what we were capable and comfortable doing. 

He then told us that he felt the hip replacement surgery was completely unnecessary, that we could try physical therapy with pain medication for a little while, but that it was not a long-term solution, and finally that he had had great success with FHO in situations like Copper’s and when the owners were diligent in the recovery process. 

After this interaction, we scheduled the FHO right then and there, and Copper had surgery this past Monday.  He is doing incredibly well so far and we are hopeful he will make a full recovery.

I share our experience with you because a new school year is upon us (or is already under way) and we will be opening our doors, hearts, and minds to learners who may have something they are struggling with in silence.  They may be suffering while still putting on a smile and “wagging their tails.”

He or she might not want to be a bother or admit they cannot do something (YET!) for a wide variety of reasons, or worst of all might not think anyone cares, but we as teachers must show our students that above all else WE CARE. 

We also must be vigilant and take the time to understand who our students are, why they do what they do, and say what they say.  We have an amazing opportunity every year to be welcomed into the minds and hearts of incredible individuals and must do everything we can to make ourselves worthy of that privilege.

We must build relationships with our students and their parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, or sisters so they trust us and know we are fighting for them.  In doing so, we create a team that is working together for the same cause.

We must educate not dictate.  Provide people with correct and accurate information in way that is approachable and shows how it will benefit them, and you will have won half the battle. Tell people what they should do and scare them by telling them what will happen if they don’t, and you have just made it even more of an uphill battle.  Be the person your students’ caretakers seek out not hide from.

We must not beat ourselves up if we miss something at first.  We are human and not mind readers.  When we are finally made aware, we have to move forward from that moment.  Try not to waste time living in the past.  If you must go back there, go for a quick vacation and make sure you are going to be bringing back a souvenir that will be helpful to your cause.  

We must collaborate and seek out second and third opinions.  I know I have not even scratched the surface of what I still have to learn, so I better be willing to seek out advice and listen to others.  We are better together and can offer one another our experiences, perspectives, understanding and support. Cultivate and grow your PLN so that your students can reap the benefits. It’s also OK to ask someone else if you are not satisfied with an answer or suggestion you get, and what’s so horrible about hearing 5 people all agree that option z is the one they would pick?

Final Thought:

We must remain positive warriors.  Just because we look on the bright side doesn’t mean we are wimps and aren’t willing to fight for what we believe. I will use my rainbows and unicorns to throw down (you know what I mean) with anyone who tries to rain on my parade, and I get loud about what I believe in and am passionate about, but I do my best to remain positive and respectful (it’s not always easy…).  Eventually I plan to win those negative naysayers over and ticking them off just makes my job that much harder.

I hope you all have a wonderful start to the year, or continue to rock it out like you have been. I just know this is going to be a year of epic proportions!