It’s lovely to have December behind us. While November and December had plenty of wonderful moments at home and school, the pace that follows these busy months is the pace I most enjoy.

I can sit back, relax and enjoy Twitter again.

I don’t know that everyone loves Twitter as I do. In fact, the glazed eyes that meet mine when I talk about Twitter confirms that not everyone loves it as I do. My appreciation for Twitter almost reaches my passion for curriculum mapping, and for similar reasons, but now I really need to explain…

First, some necessary context:

1. Educating individual children for a successful and meaningful life is not straightforward. The more you teach and learn (goodness, the more I raise my boys even), the more evident this becomes.
2. Because the world keeps changing, and children keep changing, all educators must keep learning from all perspectives and sources to ensure their professional judgment, which is applied endlessly each day, is rooted in as much knowledge as possible.

With the above in mind, here is one of the barriers to the excellence we all want to see widespread in education: educators are so busy educating that little time remains to constantly learn and grow from all the various perspectives out there.

Educating is demanding work. Educators are committed, passionate professionals who learn as much as they can and apply it to their practice. But, oh how lovely it is to come across a medium that allows us to significantly increase our knowledge base with the little spare time we can find.

Twitter serves many purposes, many of which have no bearing on professional learning at all. However, the fact that I can readily access relevant articles, blog posts, videos, resource suggestions, youth commentary, TED Talks and information about the world we live in from credible sources with a flick on my iPad or scroll of my mouse sends shivers up my spine. Sitting down to Twitter each day is like sitting down to the proverbial treasure chest. Rare is the day I don’t find a gem that I would have never otherwise come across – something that provokes, excites, encourages, or just introduces a whole new train of thought.

Embracing learning matters, especially when it has the potential to make you better able to do what matters. Time, and the wise use of it, also matters.

Where these converge is where I find Twitter.

If this perspective is new to you, I encourage you to check out Twitter. And if new perspectives will help you do what matters to you, enjoy the gems you’ll find there.

Andrea Fanjoy,
Assistant Head, Academics
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Find Andrea on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/afanjoy
Find KCS on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/kcsmatters