Creating Community
akoufman@bbn.com
Thu, 24 Jul 1997 16:25:25 -0400
Hi All...This is my first message to a group where I hardly know anyone, outside of the BBN crowd. I can attest to the discomfort for a teacher (I am a middle school teacher, on leave from Brookline PS and now working at BBN) of sharing (written) ideas and thoughts with people that are complete strangers. For me it's important to build trust with the folks that I work with, whether it's online or offline. I think that we as teachers complain that our job is soooo isolating because we LIKE to work with and care for others, and when we do not get to also talk to adults/colleagues we do begin to feel isolated, but for sure not exactly lonely because of all the kids around us. I have lots of experience using and advocating for online discussions amongst educators, but I would not want to exclude the face-to-face dimension that seems so important in building trust and community. Teachers (good ones) are best at communicating orally, on the spot, and in the relational context of the inte
raction. Sorry, but thi
s computer screen of mine leaves a lot to the imagination about who is really out there. I'll probably come back and say (write) more. Until then...Ann Koufman
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