Weirds of a Feather: Finding my Tribe

At a time where I was being deafened by the sameness of the education world online, I was refreshed to find voices that stood out for their difference in what was amounting to an echo chamber on Twitter. For the last year, Wednesday nights have often been marked with #WeirdEd chats hosted by Doug Robertson. In his characteristic way, Doug looked at Twitter chats and found a way to make them weirder. Topics range from goofy to innovative to controversial. The remarkable thing is, whether we're talking tattoos, making a thing or most recently, Charleston, people who are in these chats push their thinking, make great (and not so great) jokes, and open my eyes to new ideas.

When I first discovered Twitter chats, I was ALL IN, often participating in multiple ones each day. For a time, I even had my iPhone alarm full of notifications 15 minutes before daily chats so I wouldn't miss out. I soon learned that the way I was taking part was very surface level, sharing about things I'd tried, but I was not getting into any genuine conversations or challenging my own thinking.

#WeirdEd lets me face things head on and learn from the unique perspectives of other people. The people who join in are hugely varied in opinions and backgrounds, but you can almost literally touch their passion when communicating with them.

Pretty soon, the once weekly chats weren't enough. Connecting with participants in the chat throughout the week helped, but things were brought to the next level when the groupthink came up with the idea for a book club. A Google Doc appeared, a Voxer group started and weekly satellite chats, #WeirdTBC. Things got real. The stories got more hilarious, there were more opportunities to collaborate, people supported each other through the challenges that life throws at you. I found my tribe.

image via the Queen of Sketchnotes, Sylvia Duckworth

Lest you think this is the Cult of Doug, the remarkable thing that has emerged from his book and chats is the ability to connect not with like minded humans, but fascinating humans who, not only march to the beat of their own drums, but throw the drums out completely. I'm not sure I could have found these people in person. I don't know that Sally, Melissa, Kory, Amanda, Maria, Nathan and I would have spotted each other across a crowded room and just *known*. I don't know that Rosy, Derek, Sandy, Sarah, Ross and I, sitting in a session about Google, would have sniffed each others' weirdness out. I don't know that Courtney, Jenn,Vickie and I would have locked eyes in a crowded Expo Hall and shared stories about our lives, families and students. Yesterday, though, I got to hug and see and laugh with many of those people in person, in a balcony area they're calling "The Bloggers Cafe". The opportunity to connect with these people online before meeting in person has been really special. The stories Doug tells and the questions he asks have brought out a real, genuine side of me and allowed me to find people who really genuinely inspire and excite me. The opportunities that Doug has created are the gift I've gotten from him. (Sorry all, I do realize this is likely to make Doug's ego even bigger!


To celebrate weirdness in teaching, we have created a session that is taking place at ISTE today. In the true spirit of #WeirdEd, there will be some surprises thrown in. Everyone is warmly and enthusiastically welcome to join the Birds of a Feather session, that we affectionately call "Weirds of a Feather". This is a time for those of us who like to do things differently, want to do things differently or want to hear stories of people doing things differently to get together in the same room, in the same time zone, at the very same table and share, support, connect and laugh. You could not be more welcome. I could not be more excited.

We're hoping for laughter, but not so much crying and hurling.

Disclaimer: the names mentioned above are people who I am thrilled to be connected with and learn so much from. I hope they feel the same way! There are many many many others who have had a huge impact on my learning as well! If I missed your name here, it is totally my fault and only because I am in a rush!

First #WeirdTBC Chat Complete

I don't mind one bit that this image reminds me of HIMYM.
I do, however, mind the backwards "E".
Love the idea, though!

It's so great to see something that you've thought about and helped organize come to life. Not that long ago (December 21st, to be exact), I noticed some educators that I follow on Twitter were talking about starting a book chat based on the book, "He's the Weird Teacher". I love learning from the author, Doug Robertson, on Twitter and had started reading the book (and enjoying it tremendously), so I chimed in. Because I worship at the altar of Google and can't think of ANY better collaboration tool, I whipped up a Google Doc and invited anyone to edit. We started putting together a framework for a weekly Book Chat. The planning was made even easier when Melissa Eddington started a Voxer group for people to share ideas. I had heard lots about Voxer, but never used it. I was surprised to see how easy the "Walkie Talkie" app is to use. You simply join a group and can listen to messages as they come in live, or save them for later. You can also write text messages to the same group. Aside from a 30 second accidental audio message I added while trying to show off the app to Tiiu, I've found it really simple and easy to use!

Tonight, at 8 p.m. my time (EDT), we had our first #WeirdTBC chat. Melissa hosted and, aside from small Twitter glitches (technology always works the worst when you want to prove how easy it is to use), it was a smooth chat with lots of participation. I think it was a great success for our first chat.

In the last of my tech complaints for this post, I nearly lost my mind earlier this week when my 2-year old Kindle Paperwhite (and, arguably, best friend) suddenly stopped working. I have ALL my reading on there and frequently highlight things I love and write notes. After speaking with an Amazon rep, I learned that it must be a hardware issue and I'm off warranty, so they could give me a small discount on a refurbished Kindle. That's it. Totally bummed, I realized that there's an iPhone Kindle app. Luckily, my wifi was on when my Kindle died, and all my highlights and notes were synced. Though I am not a fan of reading for long periods on my backlit and tiny iPhone screen, I was able to participate in the chat by using the highlights and notes I'd made. Phew.

I really like people who like "He's the Weird Teacher". Like a fellow Weird Teacher (Sandy Otto) in the chat said tonight, I've found my people. Doug's weekly chat (Wednesday nights at 10 p.m EDT) #WeirdEd is a highlight of my (digital, if not real) life. The things I love about the chat are the incredibly creative and thought-provoking topics and questioning strategies Doug uses to lead his chats. He picks a variety of fun, goofy and controversial topics and leads participants on a thought-provoking journey through his carefully planned questions. One week was a teaching as a metaphor for tattoos chat and just last night was a chat about American politician, Arne Duncan (Education Secretary). Some other Twitter chats are just too serious, too repetitive or too darn big. I always get something out of a Twitter chat. I always get A LOT out of a #WeirdEd chat.

Doug uses a lot of Matrix memes. He made this one.

In tonight's inaugural #WeirdTBC, we discussed chapters 1-4 and how our own teaching styles are reflected and inspired by the stories that Doug tells in his book. Melissa Storifyed (can I make Storify a verb?) the chat if you want to see what went on. It would be great to see the chat grow, so if you can get your hands on a copy of the book, we'd love to have you join us next week (time TBA)!

This is Doug's personal Rockstar Teacher mantra. I need something cooler than, "We all learn in different ways on different days."

A highlight for me tonight was getting to chat in more detail with some teachers I really enjoy connecting with. At the end of the chat, I put out a call to connect classes. Three teachers immediately responded, and instead of having one off Skype calls with them, I suggested we all collaborate and connect our classes. In the past, I've connected with other classes, and my kids and I have gotten so much out of it (new friends, global awareness, an authentic audience for our learning, collaborative planning). I've tried to take part in HUGE online connections (like Global Read Aloud), but like some Twitter chats, they've become so big, that's they can be overwhelming to navigate. I am looking forward to working with Sandy Otto, Courtney Albrecht and Jim Windisch and their classes. Want to offer some tips on our collaboration? Check out our planning doc!

I'll leave you with one of my other favourite discoveries of the night, a Mr. Rogers Remix.

A Weird Challenge for Myself (Others Are Welcome!)

Dear sweet blog,

  I'm sorry I've neglected you for so long. It's been a busy an challenging couple of months (more on that another time, perhaps).

  I have some plans to get you back up and running and to get me back up and running as a blogger.

  First things first, clearly a blog challenge kept me on track. I will be putting together a blog challenge of my own sometime in the new year.

  In the meantime, I'm enjoying #WeirdEd chats, hosted by Doug Robertson, the author of "He's the Weird Teacher". I love the online community he's built and the opportunities to be weird, creative and innovative during his chats.

  I've started reading "He's the Weird Teacher" and am pretty sure that Doug actually lives inside my head. There are so many things he writes that match my own brain perfectly. However, hard as I try, I can't have a conversation with him (or anyone) inside my head.

  In a twitter conversation last night, several of Doug's Weird disciples started talking about putting together a book club. As always, I had to get things rolling and started a Google Doc for people to sign up and collaborate. Melissa Eddington started a Voxer group and I've started Vox-ing (is that a verb?) with her about how to make the Book Club work.

  Remember how I started this letter to you, dear blog, by saying that I needed a new challenge? I've come up with a simple one. Doug's book consists of 35 chapters. As you may know, most months have about 30 or 31 days, those numbers are similar, though not identical. If I were to blog every day for a month, using each chapter as a prompt, I'd blog my way through the book in just over a month. So as not to set myself up for too much disappointment in myself, I will be OK if I blog every two days or so and finish my self imposed Weird Challenge by the end of February.

  #ComCon, #WeirdEd, #L2L4L, feel free to join me in this challenge. Here's the inspiration for what I'll be blogging about:

1. Rockstar

2. Personal Responsibility

3. Teaching is Performance

4. Polar Express

5. Distractions

6.  Student Teachers

7. Philosophy on Discipline

8.  When the Students Are Hard, You’re Doing Your Job

9. Dressing Up

10.  How You Talk When You Talk About Your Students

11. The Trunchbull and *Deep Breath* Parents

12. Bodily Functions

13. Indoor Recess is Evil

14. The “E” Word

15. Bullying

16. Letters to Prison

17. Spelling Tests

18. My First Staff Meeting

19. What I Want Out of an Administrator

20. Learn from Fear/Inspire With Love

21. Getting a Tie and Losing My Music

22. Strange Things I Do in My Classroom (OR Things I Think I Might Have Stolen)

23. Special Guests

24. Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches

25. Tetherball

26.  Sympathy for the Weird Kid

27. Messing with Kindergarteners

28. Suck It!

29. There Are No Rules and Everyone Is Faking It

30. Reading Above Their Level

31. Substitutes

32. Dinosaurs and Fields of Study

33. Safe Schools

34. The System

35. Hello, Goodbye and Thank You

See you soon (I promise!),

Shauna