Sharing Voices Beyond the Classroom: Students and Teachers Leap into Public Writing!
Alex and Tracy, co-editors of Good Education, write their thoughts on how teachers and students can use Medium, in and out of the classroom. They created Good Education as a Medium publication for those craving to write about the goodness they see in education.
Alex’s first experience blogging while teaching abroad made her realize years later that this casual but powerful form of communication, while often used by techies and entrepreneurs, is actually ideal for educators who would benefit themselves and others by sharing their stories beyond the classroom walls.
In 2011, I sat in my studio basement apartment in the Salzkammergut region of Austria (basically the backdrop of your favorite fairytale), typing awkwardly on my iPad with the big yellow Patagonia sticker on the back (the one with a stick figure on a bike with the reminder to “Live Simply”). I was bouncing between YouTube, Facebook, and the Notes app, creating a makeshift lesson plan about Super Bowl commercials for a class of high school students. I definitely lived a simple life back then, making about 1000 Euro per month, the large portion of which went to my student loans. Repayment period had begun. Still, I was full of energy. I worked only 13 hours per week and had free reign over the content I could deliver in the high-school English classes I visited as an Austrian Fulbright Teaching Assistant.
While my glamorous “teaching” gig can hardly compare to the long hours spent grading papers and the bureaucratic red tape that most high-school teachers face in this country, it did reveal to me a side of teaching I was never before aware of: creative license. While most teachers will probably tell you their permission to be original has all but diminished in the classroom, I believe there are several teachers out there who love this part of this job, and for whom this part of the job keeps them coming back each day. Unfortunately, the creative freedom that allows teachers to be great and their classrooms to be full of life has been pushed aside to make way for standards-driven curricula. If the content doesn’t connect to the AP test at the end of the year, it’s a waste of time.
There has to be a way for teachers to reconnect with their innate creativity.
While I was teaching in Austria, I kept a blog, sharing my funny, embarrassing and insightful moments teaching in a foreign country. Today, working in the private sector, I continue to blog as a way to keep my creative muscles strong when it can feel like I’m merely one small practitioner, working in my little corner of the world. Blogging has allowed me to connect with other like-minded writers and site visitors, share my nagging thoughts, contribute ideas to others’ nagging thoughts, and feel the pure joy that comes when someone likes, shares, or gives a thumbs-up to one of my posts. Plus, clients will sometimes look at my blog to see what I’m all about, what I value, and what I’ve experienced and accomplished (this can act as an excellent filter for those with whom I don’t want to work).
My platform of choice is Medium. My husband turned me on to Medium after he built up a following of about 70,000 writing about spirituality and creativity. Over the years, I’ve enjoyed writing under my own name, sharing pieces with other Medium publications, and also contributing to outside platforms and publications. Now, I’m co-editor of this publication, Good Education, whose primary goal is to give educators — and those who care about progressive education — a space to write pieces of their own.
While I’m not a teacher anymore, I am surprised that there are not more publications devoted to curating great pieces written by educators. In a mostly thankless profession, educators can step outside of the classroom and become public experts by blogging. Those great epiphanies or big-time annoyances that arise at school can turn into remarkable content, which others can learn from, laugh at, and share with other colleagues. As daily innovators and creators, teachers are surprisingly shuttered away from the world. This is a shame. Not only are we missing out on the innovative teaching methods, new discoveries, and heart-wrenching stories from students that take place in classrooms across America, we’re missing out on the good news and positive stories that we so desperately need to hear about education, especially today.
As an educator and curriculum writer, Tracy shares her insights on how Medium can be used as a tool to expand the reach of students’ writing, allowing them to develop voice (and possibly an online network) as they develop their skills and share their passions.
Being new to Medium, I often feel like a student. Similar to my students, I often question myself before, during, and after writing pieces. I was raised in the “one right answer” era, and I’m glad to see this philosophy beginning to shift. A theme in my school district this year is “fail forward,” and we are applying this to writing, to academics, and to our lives in general. Taking risks and seeing growth is contagious, and it’s always worth standing in the gap between the old and the new.
Consistently, I have seen students of all ages become highly motivated and empowered when writing for audiences beyond the classroom. Authentic writing on Medium can help move students from compliance writing to an environment where hopes can live, connections can be established, and real voices can be developed. I trust these things are true because I have felt them myself.
Benefits to students posting on Medium:
They will be empowered to do their best work
- Teachers can authentically assess student work
- Writing has purpose and is meaningful
- Students can develop their voice as writers
- Professional writing portfolios and an online presence can be established
- Connections can be made with others of like interest
- Students can improve reading and writing skills be engaging in the Medium platform
Tips for leading students to writing in public:
- Start by having students read and comment on Medium, with support and revisions
- Give students a choice in writing topics and styles — allow them to follow their passions!
- Provide structure for writing pieces, particularly in unfamiliar styles
- Give students creative license in style and design
- Allow for many revisions and peer edits before publishing
- Partner and group writing can be allowed
- Give students plenty of time to read and explore articles on Medium before, during, and after their writing process
- Share published articles widely to help create an audience and allow their work to have a broad reach
- Check publishing permissions with parents as needed, or create an anonymous account to protect each student’s identity
Making a leap by starting to post on Medium will likely have immediate benefits for students, teachers, and administrators. Taking time to envision new ideas, test them out, notice what is going on around us, and reflecting and writing those ideas can stretch our students and us in new and exciting ways. Reading the work of others can widen our world. Connecting with a community of writers can spur new learning relationships, breed new ideas, and lead to new experiences. Blogging is equal parts taking in and sharing; while reading others’ blogs can provide insight for the day, being a content creator can open up new possibilities and new ways of going through the world as a more powerful, influential version of yourself.
If you feel inspired to become a content creator and write a positive piece about your experiences or observations in education, please consider submitting to Good Education by emailing GoodEducation18@gmail.com!
