With the first day of school approaching, education Twitter is abuzz with teachers’ and administrators’ hopes and concerns for a more normal school year. The hashtag #edchat is a major hub for insights and advice from across K-12 as districts look forward to few disruptions in 2022-23.
Educators prepping for the arrival of students are also using the hashtags #edtech, #education, #PBL and #teachertwitter to share their thoughts and ideas. Some leaders, such as Principal Stacey Anderson of Woodland School District 50 in Illinois, are taking to social media to give shout-outs to their new teams.
First official day for the 2022-2023 school year & we have the BEST team! @WPrimary50 @Woodland50News #LifeintheW pic.twitter.com/uO9jKSHG7U
— Stacey Anderson (@StaceyJAnd) August 1, 2022
El Paso ISD administrator Veronica Cervantes also highlighted the activities of some of her district’s role models:
Rockstar principals visit all classrooms and are VISIBLE! Excellent first day of school at Burges! #ItStartsWithUs #IOB @EPISDAcademics @ELPASO_ISD @kennedyjacque @EPISD_COTE @jason_yturralde pic.twitter.com/lPCMnaHHJa
— Veronica S. Cervantes (@VeroSCervantes) August 2, 2022
Beyond the first day of school, other educators are using education Twitter to remind their colleagues of some of the essential components of teaching. Dwayne Reed said that though there are many keys to a successful school year, #RelationshipsMatter:
Building relationships with your students doesn’t fix everything, but it does fix a lot of things. It’s not magic, but no one should deny that it creates something magical within the classroom. #RelationshipsMatter
— Dwayne Reed (@TeachMrReed) July 26, 2022
Relationships also go beyond social-emotional learning. They are crucial across the academic curriculum as teachers can provide more personalized feedback to students, which can lead to more robust discussions.
When #edtech ignores building relationships, it just becomes another thing that can get in the way of education. When it nurtures relationships, then it can be transformative. https://t.co/SZbh31qdz4 #education #edchat #teachertwitter pic.twitter.com/kKu86nP1ho
— Matt Hiefield (@MattHiefield) August 2, 2022
Still, there are plenty of challenges ahead, from academic recovery to the politicization of many education issues. Jake Bogus’ tweet may reflect the sentiment of other teachers who are wrestling with their love for education and the growing pressures of the labor shortage:
Class sizes for me this year:
32, 31, 29, 28, and 21.
Class sizes will continue to go up during the teacher shortage. I love teaching. I love the kids. I'm pumped for this year.
But this isn't sustainable.
— Jake Bogus (@YoMrBogus) August 2, 2022
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