For a year now, I have been following, and am followed by my assistant principal. He's not a stalker, of course. This following business, for the unlikely few who are unfamiliar, is Twitter-related. Social media specialists point out that one's Twitter handle (a throwback to CB handles) should do more than identify one's name. It should also include some information that indicates who you are as a human being. I chose my Twitter handle in a way that would differentiate me as a professional educator from my home account which is related to my hobbies and my daughter's aspirations. So I have two accounts, two handles.
For an entire year, I have erroneously interpreted the meaning behind my A.P.'s Twitter handle. I was sort-of correct, but did not see what was right in front of me. Today I had one of those V-8/smack my forehead moments. It was the kind of gears-clicking-into-place moment that I know many of my students encounter as well. The tiny bump of endorphins that I felt upon my realization is one I want to capitalize on with my students. My A.P., @jetteryderdad, is indeed a dad as his handle indicates. He is a family-first man. He also shares my brother's first name, so in that familiar sequence of letters, I did not notice the variation in spelling. For this to make sense, I need to get specific. Bear with me.
Jeff's full name is spelled Jeffrey. This is the more common spelling. My brother's name is spelled Jeffery. It is a small and almost unnoticeable difference. So when I saw Jeff the A.P.'s handle, I did not notice the location of the second e/r. In my mind, I reversed them. This is important to my story because I read Jeff's handle as "Jettery"...a child's pronunciation of Jeffery. I assumed that his young son had seen the name and tried to read/pronounce it. I envisioned Jeff's son saying, "You're Jettery! Der Dad!" It would make for a cute Twitter handle story, if it were true. Which it isn't.
Embedded in Jeff's Twitter handle are his children's names. Why I never saw that before is a mystery known only to neuroscientists who study how we catalogue information in our brains. But the experience helps me to remember that not all students will understand the information I am conveying the first, second, or even tenth time. At some point in the future, a child will be sitting in another class, the cogs will slide into place, and the endorphins will kick in. "AHA! There it is! I get it now!" the student will think. I won't be there to see it, but I can be comfortable knowing that I placed the foundation for it to occur.
Everyone learns at different rates, in different ways. We are ALWAYS learning. Follow @jetteryderdad on @Twitter!
For an entire year, I have erroneously interpreted the meaning behind my A.P.'s Twitter handle. I was sort-of correct, but did not see what was right in front of me. Today I had one of those V-8/smack my forehead moments. It was the kind of gears-clicking-into-place moment that I know many of my students encounter as well. The tiny bump of endorphins that I felt upon my realization is one I want to capitalize on with my students. My A.P., @jetteryderdad, is indeed a dad as his handle indicates. He is a family-first man. He also shares my brother's first name, so in that familiar sequence of letters, I did not notice the variation in spelling. For this to make sense, I need to get specific. Bear with me.
Jeff's full name is spelled Jeffrey. This is the more common spelling. My brother's name is spelled Jeffery. It is a small and almost unnoticeable difference. So when I saw Jeff the A.P.'s handle, I did not notice the location of the second e/r. In my mind, I reversed them. This is important to my story because I read Jeff's handle as "Jettery"...a child's pronunciation of Jeffery. I assumed that his young son had seen the name and tried to read/pronounce it. I envisioned Jeff's son saying, "You're Jettery! Der Dad!" It would make for a cute Twitter handle story, if it were true. Which it isn't.
Embedded in Jeff's Twitter handle are his children's names. Why I never saw that before is a mystery known only to neuroscientists who study how we catalogue information in our brains. But the experience helps me to remember that not all students will understand the information I am conveying the first, second, or even tenth time. At some point in the future, a child will be sitting in another class, the cogs will slide into place, and the endorphins will kick in. "AHA! There it is! I get it now!" the student will think. I won't be there to see it, but I can be comfortable knowing that I placed the foundation for it to occur.
Everyone learns at different rates, in different ways. We are ALWAYS learning. Follow @jetteryderdad on @Twitter!