Speaking in Mr. Johnson’s Class

Modify Watches CEO Aaron Schwartz, was not only gracious with his time with my students, but also provided this guest post for "YourKidsTeacher"

This post originality appeared on Modify Watch's Blog.

One of the most fun parts of Modify is the ability to meet our customers. They come from all over the place – different countries, different cultures, different skill sets, different passions … We have always called customers our “ModiFamily“. We think of everyone we interact with as part of our larger community, our family. If you have followed the business for any length of time you know that our customers vote on what we design, and that the ModiFamily’s voice is as present as any one of Modify’s employees.

Well, sometimes we’re lucky enough to interact with the ModiFamily on a deeper level. This past week Aaron had the opportunity to speak in Mr. Johnson’s 6th grade class. You can follow Mr. Johnson on Twitter account here (note, if you have kids, it’s a great one).

Was it a little like a 1984-Big-Brother or some other setup where there’s a really big-headed person on a screen talking at folks? Kinda. But this wasn’t your ordinary 6th grade class – they didn’t just sit there, they came prepared! Below is a list of questions sent in advance

• Why watches? Was it the watch or was it just a product line where you saw an opportunity?
• Do you think your company’s watches are expensive?
• Did you know spiders are our friend? They eat bugs more harmful bugs and keep insect populations down.
• What was so difficult about making your product? Was it the interchangeability part?
• Mr Johnson is always telling us failure is important and that it’s natural to fail. Is he just putting us on?
• What modify combination is your favorite?
• What is your favorite kind of donut?
• What is your hometown?

Note: I didn’t discuss gluten-intolerance as relates to donuts.

Note 2: Spiders are the worst

As the session went on, a bunch of these 12 year olds – 12!! – went to the camera and asked more direct, strategic questions about our business. Well done Mr. Johnson. These kids are amazing – thanks for helping mold our future leaders. And thank you for the honor of meeting them!

Thank you Mr Schwartz for providing my kids with a great learning opportunity! Very Much appreciated.

You can follow Modify Watches and Aaron on Twitter at @ModifyWatches and @MosesOfWatches respectfully. Visit Modify's great lineup of products at Modify Watches

I'm not as good as Twitter me

When Twitter recently launched their first Tweet tool, which hunts down and displays your first tweet for you, I had to check it out. 'YourKidsTeacher' tweet #1 was a good indicator of why I decided to use Twitter in my then 1st grade classroom. I’ve been on Twitter as @YourKidsTeacher for a little over 4yrs now and as my Tweet count approach five figures, I looked back at my timeline and saw how the nature of what I share has changed.

Twitter as Communication Tool

Initially, I was looking for an easy communication conduit with my home partners and Twitter fit my need well. The site was easy to use, easily updated, and it was accessible across a number of platforms. Even for my home partners who didn't have a computer at home, almost all of them had cell phones with which Tweets could be received via text messages. (smartphones were still fairly new)

Back then, I shared what we were doing at a couple of points in our day, classroom/school information, reminders, etc. Twitter was a great place to share the good things going on. I shared the learning joy of first graders.

It wasn’t until much later, when I started participating in #chats and had ‘conversations’ with other educators from all over the world, that my tweets evolved from their original mission. My current usage is not exclusively about the things going on in our classroom. I ‘talk’ to a lot of different people now, moderate a chats from time to time for areas in which I have something to offer. There is a lot more of ‘me’ in my timeline. The evolution required a change in my profile descriptors and an statement of an unapologetic fashion faux-pas. Nobody needs to see my toes.

The school year resembles the path of a roller coaster. I share the good on Twitter. My kids, school, and grade level achieve some great things. Their efforts and accomplishments deserved to be shared. I’m proud for their efforts. I share the ups, the peaks, the high points. I share the things that get me excited. I tweet when a kid does a great thing, when our school makes the news for a feel good story, or when I leave school feeling awesome. 

Like on the day when one of my kid's favorite authors tweeted back that he loved what one of them had created.

I’m not as good as the Twitter me. 

However, you won’t see me tweet about bad days, bad lessons, or bad experiences. I think there are enough people writing stories about real and perceived failures in schools. I’m not about to contribute 140 characters to that narrative.

My Twitter miranda: I won’t provide any evidence that can be used against me and my peers. 

People fail at their jobs everyday. Me too. I fall down all the time. Sometimes my organizational skills fall apart and I can’t keep up with all my clubs, teams, home partner communications, committees, and other clerical tasks. The non teaching stuff of being a teacher can be overwhelming. Frustrating. Sometimes I don't give a lesson on indirect objects the full weight and force of my teaching skills. There are times that my lessons go down in flames the minute I lift them off my table. Days that I feel like crying or screaming. There are numerous days that I feel Quixotic. Ineffective. I just won't tweet those things out.

I blog about those failures sometimes. I think I have a responsibility as an educator to talk about my missteps. Writing about those times helps me reflect. When I read my favorite writers, I realize I’m not the only one who might have had a bad day. Sometimes re-realizing that there are other educators out there who crashed, burned or failed yet again to tip over the windmill helps other teachers. Many of us struggle reaching our own expectations. I like to read about those instances, but I like stories that are longer than 140 characters.

If you want to think further about sharing the failures and such in your classroom, read this great post by Michelle Baldwin and then scroll down to see the comments by Dean Shareski and their conversation. A couple of my favorite virtual colleagues. I value their insights and conversations a great deal.

Thanks for reading.  Follow me on Twitter @YourKidsTeacher