cc licensed flickr photo shared by Chris Owens
I love music. I always have. I remember when other kids were listening to Sharon, Lois, and Bram I was listening to the Police and Queen (click for some fantastic songs!). Not that I went actively seeking this type of music but growing up with two older brothers, this was going to be the music of choice.
I also love basketball. I credit the sport for a huge part of my development because it taught me to work with others, stay healthy, and how to control my emotions when I was frustrated. I am a huge Lakers fan from the Magic Johnson and Kareem days and have stuck with my team until this day. Yes I jumped on the bandwagon but I was seven years old at the time and did not even know what that meant.
My dogs are also a huge part of my life. I got my first dog Kobe (named after a Laker player) the day I signed my first teaching contract since my parents were never allow us to have a dog. Shaq (also named after a Laker at the time) came into my home about ten months later so Kobe would have a buddy during the day. They drive me nuts but I love them with all my heart.
The reason I am telling you this is because this is part of who I am as a person. Fact of the matter is, I am sure that 90% of the students in our school could tell you all three of those facts and I am sure 100% of them could tell you at least one. Yes I am a principal, but I am a person first.
Sharing who you are and what you love is part of the educational process, not outside of it. Of all my favourite teachers that I ever had, I could tell you something personal about them. Mr. Hill (who is on Twitter) was the biggest Seattle Supersonics fan ever and we would talk trash in school from grade four and on when they played the Lakers. Mrs. Penrose loved music and played in a band with her husband on the weekends. Do you think I connected with either of these teachers? Maybe we had something in common?
Do you know what Mr. B. did? Neither did I (hence the reason I used his initial). I never connected with him and really did not like going to his class. It is easier to connect with someone you have something in common with, but if you don’t, at least if you feel they are “real”, you will still connect with them.
True story. I ref basketball and have parents yelling me at games. I have learned to tolerate it for the most part but when it gets really belligerent, I will often go into the crown during a break and say, “How would you feel if someone was yelling horrible things at your child from the stands? Probably just as bad as my mom does right now since she came to watch me ref tonight.” Although she has never been there when I have used this line (a little fib!), it has stopped the yelling immediately. I have shown the fan that we have a common ground that we can connect through and they ultimately see me as a person, and not just a ref.
The “real me” that I try to share with my students I also try to share with my PLN as well. I had such fun (and sometimes stressful) conversations during the Lakers run to the championship this year. I decided that I would share my love of music through tagging all of my music #georgetunes and yes, that sometimes even included my love for Wham and George Michael. There is definitely a time for moving education forward and talking about important practices, but there is also a time to share who you are. People relate to you a lot better if they feel they relate to you in the first place! One of my favourite basketball players, Steve Nash, is a fantastic soccer player. I actually am not a soccer fan, but seeing that he is not all about basketball and has interests outside definitely make him someone that people feel they can connect with and why he seems to be the exact OPPOSITE of this.
Some people may see this “sharing of yourself” as outside of education, but I see it as one of the foundations of good practice. I encourage you to share the REAL you with others. There are definitely some things that we should keep private (I am regretting talking about my love for manpris on Twitter!) but the relationships we make with our students, parents and other educators will ultimately create the best opportunities for success!
