In my “Drafts” I have over twenty posts in various states of completion—most will whither away. I decided to take this one out of the box as-is and see what kind of comments it elicits….
So let’s get started again…where was I…ahhhh…that’s right–You are a Geek
That’s right, if you are reading this you are probably a geek. You stick out like a sore thumb for how you teach. I have noticed at the end of the last few conferences I have attended that everyone mentions how hard it will be to go back to their schools because they don’t quite fit in—they felt so at ease with the people at the conference and they will now have to go back to work where they can’t even eat in the teacher’s room. Has that ever happened to you? Do you know why? Because you are a geek. You are not one of the cool kids, you don’t think and do what everyone else does.
Seriously, that is the strength and weakness of the geek movement. There used to be lots of people a year or two ago writing about why so few people are moving to integrate technology in their classrooms and how we should convince them. Well, that would be like the kids on the chess club going into the locker room and telling the football players why they should use a highlighter when they read. I am thinking that the chess players would exit the locker room with their heads highlighted. I know that I am coming close to the point where I can no longer understand someone who is a traditional textbook, workbook, quiz, test, coercive consequence classroom management plan teacher. I don’t know if I can sell my style of teacher that type of teacher. So what if we approached convincing teachers to use more technology in class the same way a company brands a product?
Make a connection with a somatic marker of some sorts. People make most of their decisions subconsciously based on past experiences–make the connection emotional. When you mention technology, what comforting memory can they reflect back upon? What have they experienced and forgotten or not even noticed that you can appeal to deep in the subconcious regions of their body?
Create an image of what using technology in a classroom looks like. One image. Mention using technology in a classroom and everyone should see the same thing in their head. It should look natural and attainable by everyone.
Don’t tell people to use technology because it’s “better” or it will improve student achievement. That implies what people are currently doing in classrooms is wrong. People resist being fixed.
Make people wonder about using it. Don’t give answers, give them questions. Open possibilities, don’t give them stuff.
Get a cool kid to start using it. People don’t imitate geeks. I am a geek at my school. If no one respects what I do or what I believe it is awful hard to get people to join my club. Nobody wants to be in the geek club unless they have been thrown out of the cool kid gang. No one at my school has ever asked me about anything I do. Whether a question about integrating technology, or my holistic style of classroom management. When someone new comes into the school they automatically imitate the cool club. No one wants to join my club. It would not provide them with a sense of security. Joining the geek squad makes someone feel insecure. Why else do all the geeks work twelve hours a day trying to improve their teaching and learning new things? Because they are not part of the club that has control and offers safety, geeks bury their head in their work and call it “passion.” That gives them control, that gives them some sense of security.
Our brain is filled with mirror neurons that make us want to be like and be liked by everyone else by following the established tradition of rules, not the exception to the rule. Geeks are the exceptions to the rules. I guess geeks will always be geeks. By the time all of the cool kids have joined their club, the geeks will have formed another one.
7 responses so far ↓
I know exactly what you are saying. But we are slowly changing that. We are becoming the cool kids as there are fewer fun options for electives. We stand out from the crowd because even though we are a career field it just seems more fun.
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Paul,
I completely understand where you are coming from on a number of items. I have 3 or 4 blog posts still sitting in draft mode and will probably stay there. Then again, I am good at brainstorming but not completing all of my thoughts without running off to a new one.
As for being a “geek” I agree that if teachers are provided a taste of what could be they will ask for more of the pie. IMHO, you do a wonderful job with the students in your class. I feel that their projects and belief in the instructional tools will start to spark the fire in other educators that want to engage their own students. Thus, the move from traditional to 21st Century instruction will be drive by the students and not us.
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I think many teachers are so afraid of technology that they are afraid to use it in the classroom. Some of those who didn’t grow up with computers are afraid that it’s just another thing that can tie up their time and go wrong. I admit there are days when I would die if my computer didn’t work because the entire lesson involves it, but the things I can show with a computer that I could never show on an overhead make it all worth it.
I have had to bribe my students into going online to read the blog and comment. Sadly, even with the bribe, it’s mostly the same kids that visit over and over. In this case, I think kids are oversaturated with internet junk and blogs and all of the things that us “cool geeks” are trying to implement. That on top of all of the stuff they do on their own. I feel like some are at a point where it’s easier to just stay away from the computer than to get so involved with what we ask them to do.
Then there are the kids who have trouble reading. Blogs are all about reading so I can imagine their frustration and the feeling that they are missing out when all of their peers are zipping through the blogs and they can’t digest all of the text.
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Well, I know I am one of those people who hates going back to school after a conference. But a geek? Ok, I guess I do enjoy editing videos and podcasts. I do like showing new tools to the class. I do love watching my students succeed when they had struggled before, simply because we show new ways for them to do so. If that makes me a geek, then I say I’ll gladly join the club!
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Thank you. Now, maybe I’ll relax a little.
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Initially the end of your post depressed me. The idea that we geeks will never get the chance to be the cool kids seemed terribly unfortunate.
As I thought more about it I realized that we’re just ahead of the curve. Someone has to break the ground. As frustrating as it can be to watch others teaching in ways that seem backwards, it’s reassuring to think that they’ll eventually catch on (or retire). We’ll keep pushing things forward. Hopefully, not completely alone.
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I find it interesting to hear teachers gripe about how students aren’t curious, don’t want to learn new things, seem satisfied with the status quo, etc.
How many teachers actually model life-long learning habits to their students? The geeks do. It’s a part of geekhood. You can’t continue to be a geek without learning new stuff all of the time.
I’m ok with being a geek. Guess I’m lucky to teach with a group that are all interested in computers. But those guys think I’m weird because I’m also into the arts & humanities; not the traditional domain of average computer geeks. I have to go outside of my job to hang out with artists & artsy-fartsy people. Or I can just hang out on my favorite blogs…
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