The Learning is Change Podcast

This was going to be a different post filled with all kinds of rich artifacts of my digital identity during a regular week of life and work. It was going to be a reflection on the past decade or so of sharing my experience within the many social and private spaces I inhabit, but that isn’t this post. Instead, this post is a reflection of my digital identity during the week that my two older children (10 and 12) experienced the most extreme form of violence within their school. You see, they go to Stem School Highlands Ranch. And, on Tuesday, May 7, 2019, they did not have a normal day at school. This post is the result of the day that they had. It is a result of the one that my wife and I experienced. And it is a result of the day and week that the community around us shared. I don’t have any intention for it other than to record this information. I want it preserved for myself and for all of the other #DigPINS participants that are endeavoring to reflect upon their own Digital Identities and make things for others.

I believe there are some events that fundamentally change the ways that we see ourselves and our community. This is one of those events for me.

(Note: Prompts from the app are in bold.)

1: A signal of time is how often I think about my children being locked in a classroom, waiting to find out if someone is coming to kill them. The further I get away from it, the less often this thought occurs. But, when it comes back, it stays and is still just as visceral. I want to protect those kids just as much. I want to save them from this moment. And I feel the teacher’s fear as my own. It is real. 

2: To me, a good life means knowing that you will not outlive your kids. That they will not be taken from you and that you will have to survive with the idea of what they could have been and done with their lives. You should not bury your children. You should live to see them free. 

3: Whenever I start writing I go to a place in the upper right corner of my mind, remembering what I have to say, as if each time I make more words they come from the same source. They are right there, just waiting to unspool and be put in the right order. All my metaphors are all memories. The statements so sticky that they hang on to one another and drop to my fingers only when they are ready and when I think to call upon them. 

4: The color purple reminds me of my youngest son. It is the purple in his unicorn robe. It is the purple in his fingernail polish. It is the purple in his chosen stuffies. It is a purple twinkle that I see creeping into his tooth-missing smile. He is a purple boy, and I wouldn’t want it any other way. 

5: I always knew that school shootings would be a part of my kids’ lives. I just didn’t think it would be this intimately intertwined. I didn’t know they would experience the terror first hand or that their school would be internationally recognized as one of the epicenters of tragedy. 

6: If I were to disappear I know that the sphere of influence I have built would miss me. It isn’t large, or particularly deep in the moment, but it would be an impact. I have made myself known to others enough that they would feel the absence. And I don’t want to be absent, at least as long as I can help it. I want to be present. To make an impact as deeply felt while I am here as when I am not. I don’t need to be remembered for all time. I just want to fill up the life of those around me and I want to pour into them a love that is more than they would expect. 

Joelle Warsh, technology teacher and coach at Boston Elementary, discusses the real purpose behind using tech in classrooms and the best ways for teachers to find time for learning from and with children in the process.

Marcelina Rivera, Chief of Staff for Aurora Public Schools, discusses what truly inspires children to learn and teachers to teach. She also questions the ways in which we can use all of the resources and relationships at our disposal to support learners.

“Learning is a relationship…”

Ran Jung, Principal of APS Online HS, defines Blended and Personalized Learning and the ways in which relationships between teachers and students can provide for better opportunities for learning. She also goes into the ways in which we might better “write our own story” with celebrations.

Joshua Kusch, PWR Specialist for Aurora Public Schools, reveals how he sees learning as a problem solving endeavor. He also goes into the ways in which we can continue to make stronger connections with our students, no matter which role we may find ourselves in.

Jennifer Andrews, Art Teacher at Dalton Elementary in Aurora Public Schools, dives into the ways in which we can better engage our students in collaboration and connection in our classrooms. She also questions how we can better set expectations for teachers in our district.

Stella Cypher, Educational Technology Coordinator in Aurora Public Schools, discusses the ways in which we can make learning more relevant for students through empathy. She also asks an important questions regarding our own assumptions for others who are supporting teachers and leaders in schools.

In this far too brief interview, Julius Vaughns, Communications Specialist in Aurora Public Schools, urges us to consider the ways in which we commit to kids. Even in roles that are outside of the school, he encourages each of us to support learning and learners every day.

Jan Parker, Educational Technology Coordinator for Aurora Public Schools, asks how we might solve for more systemic problems through educational support and partnerships. She also tries to tackle the role of technology in the classroom, and how it can be a transformative force for teachers.

Tina Green, Department Secretary for Educational Technology in Aurora Public Schools, discusses how we can better create equitable outcomes for all kids by meeting student needs with the right tools and resources. She also provides personal insight for how parents can make choices for which schools to send their children to based upon the relationships that are made between teachers and students.