Category Archives: Engage Professionally

#ITeach

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My response, in 200 words or less, when asked why I teach…

I teach … because I care. I care about our children and their future as citizens of the world.
I want to make a difference in their lives, to connect, guide and empower them to reach for the stars. I love their enthusiasm and sense of wonder and I want to nurture their passions and help them to discover their skills and strengths.
I work in a diverse school setting and it’s not always easy. There are days when it’s hard to connect with some students. But I have found that where there is compassion, trust and a good relationship, obstacles can be overcome together.
My biggest challenge is trying to fit everything in. As much as I love teaching my students, I also love learning and sharing with others. I volunteer in the community through our state IT association and this enables me to interact with teachers around the world.
I’ve been teaching for a long time, but I’m still passionate and feel that there’s more for me to do.
So I teach, to keep making a difference.
– Tina Photakis, South Australia

Check out more teachers sharing about why they teach:
https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/iteach

Moderating #SatChatOC with Summer Howarth

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Today I moderated a chat on Twitter and it was an unforgettable experience. If you haven’t been part of a Twitter chat, you should try it at least once. It can be frenetic but also inspiring, and at times quite thought provoking. There’s a whole list of Twitter chats that can easily be found. Jeannette James (@7Mrsjames on Twitter) has a couple of great lists of Australian based Twitter chats that you can check out.

Our resident Aussie #satchatoc moderator, Andrea Stringer (@stringer_andrea on Twitter) was on her way to the USA for an exciting time of connecting, learning and sharing, so I was fortunate to co-moderate with todays’ guest, Summer, who led us in an exciting and valuable discussion on the topic of Entrepreneurial Educator.

Have a look at the chat through Storify :

 

 

‘R’ is for relationships – #teacherwellbeingchat

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On Sunday, 2 March, I was the guest co-host for #teacherwellbeingchat. Louiza Hebhardt is the wonderful moderator of this chat, which has grown into an amazing community on Twitter. I’m sharing the storify from that chat as it was focussed on ‘relationships’, a subject that is very close to my heart.
The chat was based around four questions:
1. What are some of your strategies for striking a balanced life?
2. How do you improve relationships with colleagues?
3. What do you do to optimise relationships with students?
4. What’s your hot tip for maintaining positive relationships, even when times are tough?
Ask yourself these questions and check out what other people had to say at the chat:

http://storify.com/equilibriumctc/r-for-relationships