Virtual Mentors: Past and Present, Young and Old

I told the students that I am only one person and I can't inspire them in all the ways possible, and that's why I introduce them to lots of mentors and teachers past and present via video.

This week students were introduced to the following virtual sources of inspiration:

Dwayne Reed is a fun loving, positive young educator whose videos provide positive teaching/learning messages. I follow Mr. Reed on Twitter. I told students that I follow people who help me to teach better. I told them that I follow Mr. Reed because he has good ideas and a different perspective than mine when it comes to teaching well. I said that I liked his videos and songs, and he's funny.

Tom Brady is a hero for most children who live in New England. While some young children may not listen to my message, they will listen to Tom Brady's advice that you are the sum of your training and that you have to rule yourself. 

Jose Vilson is an educator leader who is a teacher's teacher. I follow Jose and learn a lot from him. He offers me the perspective of a man with many different experiences than me. I told students that I first was introduced to Jose when he spoke at an education protest in DC, and later had the chance to meet him at a number of conferences. I also read Jose's book, This is Not a Test. I also told students that Jose started Educolor. Students were clearly inspired by this story and this wonderful way to use social media to expand your horizons as well as learn and teach better.

I shared this wonderful quote by Toni Morrison, and I told students how I want to read another book by Toni Morrison so that I can learn from the wonderful way she used words to craft stories. I told them that I want to learn to use more wonderful words in my writing. I further explained that reading the words of wonderful writers, helps us to write better.

And, I shared the wonderful teaching of other children too. This great video serves as a wonderful way to teach students about divisibility rules:

We learned from Jo Boaler too as we listened to her inspiring math mindset talk too:

As the year progresses, students will be introduced to countless mentors and teachers young and old, past and present from multiple cultures, countries, and diverse groups. I want every child to see themself in the curriculum, and video is one way to do that. I also want children to understand positive ways to use the Internet to enrich and inspire their learning and success. The use of wonderful videos is a rich way to do this.