One of my reasons for becoming active on Social Media was to engage people of influence in the discussion of education. I soon found out that there were several circles of influence that were driving the discussion, but educators had very little influence in any of those circles and Social Media had even less influence on them. Business people, politicians, and people were driving the education discussion interested in entering the education industry for profit. Educators, whether by choice or circumstance, were not involved in the very reform discussions that were affecting their profession. Although educators are educated and experienced in the area of education, education expertise was claimed and permitted for the most part by those without either.
Many of these people used Social Media to put out a one-way information campaign to support their ideas of reform. It was not a discussion of ideas, but rather a statement of position. Teachers were praised as they were targeted. The public education system was condemned as a failure and alternatives were presented as a better, and cheaper. Standardized testing became a goal in education and an annual Billion-dollar industry in short order.
Educators were openly discussing ways to improve education and continue to do so on Social Media. Twitter is a mainstay for exchanging sources and discussing ideas of educators to improve and expand teaching and learning. Few of the non-educator reformers were actively engaged in these exchanges. The power of Social Media has yet to be discovered or used by many. Recognition of the fact that many education bloggers, authors, speakers, and thought leaders engage in thoughtful discussion and reflection on education in social media is just not a reality.
It was in the face of all of this that I happened upon The Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan tweeting on Twitter the other day. I was familiar with his tweeting pattern, since I have been following him for quite a while. I also follow his assistants and PR people. He and his team would often tweet out positive tweets about his initiatives. It was rarely an exchange with educators, but usually a one-way conversation. I was also aware that his follow list included politicians, business people and organization leaders, many referring to themselves as education reformers. He followed few, if any connected educators, which was very ironic, since we are entering the Connected Educator Month in October for the second year in a row. Here is how the exchange went:
Arne Duncan @arneduncan
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As a nation we’re still spending $7-9B each year on textbooks that are obsolete the day we buy them. Why?
@arneduncan If you need a list of great connected Educators to follow on Twitter, let me know. I can make it happen. #Edchat #CEM
@tomwhitby absolutely.
@arneduncan GREAT! First follow me,then follow this Comprehensive list of the Most Connected Educators. bit.ly/W818Tt #Edchat #CEM
@tomwhitby Done. Thanks for the suggestion Tom.
@arneduncan You are very welcome. 15-20 minutes a day on Twitter will give you the pulse of the connected educator community. #Edchat #CEM
The list I provided was a list of about 100+ connected educators that I exchange information with most often from among the 2,500 educators that I follow. Of course I have left off some educators who belong on that list, but that is a problem inherent with any made-up list.
The Secretary did as I had asked; He followed every educator and me on that list. He more than doubled his Follow list on Twitter. Educators immediately responded on Twitter in astonishment that The U.S. Secretary of Education was following them on Twitter. They were wondering why they were selected. Obviously, they were not following me, as closely as I was following them.
It was at this point that I began to see a problem. People were openly questioning whether or not Secretary Duncan was really going to engage educators. They were openly asking what they could DM the Secretary to affect the education discussion. They had expectations of the Secretary that they would not have of anyone else after just entering the culture of connected educators. They were already expecting too much. There is no tweet or comment that could so profoundly affect the education discussion to turn it all around making everyone hug and dance in jubilation.
To make this even more interesting some of The Secretary’s team tweeted me hoping that he hadn’t made a mistake connecting to educators who had a potential of haranguing him. I only hoped that I was right. I would hope that people would give The Secretary time to acclimate to the culture. He has not engaged with connected educators to any great extent and now he is connected to over 100 of the most active and most passionate. It could be the best effort yet to engage connected educators in the national discussion of education reform, or a disastrous conflagration. I am hopeful that the patience of these educators will allow Secretary Duncan to observe, enter and participate in the connected culture with the same respect offered to any other member of that community.
My Island View 
Hi Tom, I was delighted to see Arne Duncan on my follow list. My first reaction was that now he’ll have a chance to get one inside view of what it is like to be an elementary school teacher today. I was excited to see a leader make the time to follow educators who are doing the work of teaching every day.
I had a similar reaction as you when Duncan spoke at the NBPTS conference a couple of years ago. I wrote this post in response: http://teachwellnow.blogspot.com/2011/07/arne-duncan-speaks-at-nbpts-conference.html
The education landscape is filled with many varied points of view as most Americans have a stake in the system which makes it a complex system. Although the struggles many educators face prompt frustration and pain, it’s important that we move forward with positive, respectful debate as we share our points of view, research, experience, hopes, and vision. We must work together public and private, leader and teacher, students, teachers and parents to create a vibrant, forward-moving, learning community in America–a community that puts children first when it comes to teaching well.
Thanks for your time, effort, and care. You are an important voice and support for teachers like me, teachers who are working every day to forward their vision and efforts to teach children well. I appreciate.
While I wasn’t on your list, I re-followed Sec. Duncan last week, and I have been following people in his office for a while now. I have OFTEN tried to engage them in conversations on Twitter – not just a tweet or two. When they ask questions, I respond and ask some questions in return. I do not harass them.
My frustration is that, with one exception (Justin – EdPressSec), I never get a response. Never. I’m a pretty connected educator. The one-way street mentality is extremely frustrating. On top of that, the only one I do hear from gets a little unprofessional in his responses.
I want an open dialogue. Period. I feel like the mass follow from your list was nothing but a PR move from that office, as is so much of the other “pro-teacher” messages we hear from Duncan. When his actions match his words, I will feel like we have a chance to move forward.
Thanks for doing what you can to help promote the dialogue, Tom. Much appreciated.
@michellek107
Michelle,
I get and understand your frustration. However change is not an event, it is a process. Regardless of the Secretary’s motives he took a step forward by following educators today. This shows that he is at least willing to listen. Whether he engages will be an entirely separate matter. Hopefully this is the start of a conversation. I’m willing to give him, and those that he followed, time to figure this all out. Everybody involved, including yourself, are passionate and smart. Before we throw stones at each other, let us all first extend an open palm and see where it all can lead from there.
Evan
@scherrology
Evan, I love your optimism. I wish I could share it.
I cannot infer from his simple act of following a pre-set list of educators that any “listening” will happen… most especially because he has yet to engage in any dialogue WITH the educators he’s following.
I have another Twitter account I used for demo a few years back and followed hundreds of people. Can’t remember the last time I logged into that account. Obviously, I’m not listening to anyone I’m following from that account, because I’m not reading their responses. They can assume, since they haven’t heard from me, that I’m not likely engaging in any two-way conversations.
LISTENING is an active response.
I realize the Secretary is a busy man. If he’s truly listening, then I would like to see a response from him to other educators. Doesn’t have to be me. It could be any of the 100 on Tom’s list. Or not on the list at all.
BTW, his last @ to anyone was Tom. The rest of his timeline in the last week are all one-way.
Thanks for the pushback. 🙂
Tom, the whole world loves a wide-eyed optimist, and we can wish until the cows come home (if you will allow me two old shibboleths), but if you’ve followed Anthony Cody’s “Teacher’s Letters to Obama” you must know our suggestions are ignored and our questions are unanswered.
Cody tried to engage Duncan with essentially the same result you have heard. You are a fine blogger, but if you think you, or any of us, have adjusted the educational compass of Duncan, or his Boss Obama, you are indeed naive. Good manners is this sham of a dialogue matter not.
The net result is their reelection coffers, without respect to party, have been stuffed with profits from Pearson, while our kids and teachers spend precious learning time bubbling sheets on the head of a pin.
What an educational tragedy this Administration has been. Yet, incredibly, they still have the electoral support of many educators and the unions. What is it about these charismatic charlatans that they still hold such political sway over so many of us?
Who loses? You know the answer to that one. It surely isn’t Duncan. Nor his boss.
That said, we do what we can. Never give up!
Tom
I was one who replied with skepticism about this news and made the comment that following is one thing, while participating is entirely another. Following requires no listening and no participation. Yes, I agree, like everyone else, there is a learning curve to using Twitter in community well. And yes, Secretary Duncan has a great deal on his plate. So, I’m not sure how realistic it is to expect that he will spend time skimming through his Twitter stream looking for ways to participate. However, would certainly be important to communicate that he is listening and actually engage with a few folks in meaningful exchange. If his account is simply a monitored one by assistants/team and his replies are simply acts of political strategy and PR, that would be a shame.
No doubt, to mix in this way so publicly with “the people” in ways that could be messy and unpredictable is risky. There is no prepared speech, no Teleprompter, no advisors to vet every statement, every reply, every exchange… Unless there are.
Perhaps a way to get his feet wet would be to strategically participate in a related #edchat.
I’ll remain optimistic… for a while.
I think this is fantastic, Tom! I appreciate Sec. Duncan’s step in following recommended educators–I see many on the list I follow and respect greatly! I tend to be optimistic and like this direction. I think it will become what we make of it.
I think everyone in their replies on this blog have made good points on all sides. It is frustrating to feel like the conversation is one way. I also agree someone in Sec. Duncan’s position gets input from so many that the volume of input will always exceed the output. Also, depth of response is limited in a tweet.
I like the #edchat idea and want to throw out an idea that piggybacks off of that. I have far fewer people that I am responsible to in my role as an educator and school psychologist. I also love twitter and helped develop #PLC101 which had more activity during the summer and a sharp decrease in activity once school started because we were all engaged in different professional activities and with our kids’ activities. This made it difficult for a new chat–with some fairly new twitter users and educators learning to be chat moderators–to be sustained on the day we had arranged for the summer chats. We will have to adjust for that.
With Sec. Duncan’s role, time constraints would be exponentially greater, so piggy-backing off the #edchat idea, maybe it would be possible for him to be a guest host at times to be a part of the chat, and then he could be tagged on the archived chats, look at concerns from educators nationwide, and see other educators to follow and engage that way? Just throwing out options!
I watch some state superintendents engage with educators on twitter and have been impressed by that. Our state supt. in LA, John White, has encouraged communication through twitter and been available, and I see Deborah Gist participates in #edchatRI (and I am sure there are others too). I also see legislators engaging with constituents through Twitter too.
I agree this is a process. I like the move and appreciate all who were involved in this step! Thanks so much!!
Rachel Magee
Louisiana
It was I who may have risked offending you earlier today with tweets about the diversity of representation on your ‘Most Connected Educators’ list. If those comments seemed to insinuate something disparaging about your personal values, commitments, or identity, I apologize: that was not my intent. You are known and respected by so many of us for having worked tirelessly to connect educators — most recently through this admirable and plainly influential gesture to invite Secretary Duncan into the ‘culture’ of connected educators.
My concern with the minimal representation of people of color on your list of ‘Most Connected Educators’ is tied to this question of ‘culture’ — how it is defined; how it might be understood by Secretary Duncan; how it is often represented in the national media — and resonates with your comments that frame this post about those in whose name “education expertise” has been “claimed and permitted” in the national discourse on education policy and reform. You are the first to acknowledge that you “have left off some educators who belong on that list, but that is a problem inherent with any made-up list.”
The concern in the case of this particular ‘made-up list’ — which clearly includes a wide range of remarkable educators, all of whose credentials and commitments should be celebrated — is the specific impact this list may have on the Secretary’s developing understanding of the ‘connected educator’ insofar as almost all of the educators you have listed are White.
If you have the ear of the Secretary of Education and the opportunity to help facilitate a more inclusive ‘conversation’ on all of our behalves — and it would seem, to his credit and to yours, that you do — then the representation of more people of color on a list of those “most active and most passionate” in the ‘culture of connected educators’ could, indeed, help this gesture even more to become “the best effort yet to engage connected educators in the national discussion of education reform.”
Thus, and thus alone, had I and others intended the suggestions for the Secretary to consider following the likes of @losangelista, @andreperryedu, @mdawriter, @ProfessorJVH, @theJLV, @teachersabrina, and many other educators of color no less active, passionate, or connected than other great educators on your influential list.
Sincerely and respectfully,
Chris
[…] One of my reasons for becoming active on Social Media was to engage people of influence in the discussion of education. I soon found out that there were several circles of influence that were drivi… […]
[…] Tom Whitby, whose blog I follow regularly, posted this account of a Twitter exchange he had with Arne Duncan about engaging 100 connected eductors with the Secretary. Whitby also provides his view of the education "reform" landscape, its influence on Duncan, hope for how the 100 connected educators might interact with Duncan, and a copy of his 100 list. It all makes for some interesting reading and for some interesting personal fantasies about what could come next from this. Way to go Tom. […]
Tom, I have followed you & your blog for a while now & it’s always a good reminder of the issues in education. Of special interest to me was your post about being connected, semi-connected & unconnected. It made me ask myself my status & served as a great reminder that I need to balance my interactions so they aren’t all one way. Thankfully, I continue learning & trying to be more connected even as I encourage others to also be connected. It’s definitely a process for me as some people in the comments above also mention. I hope big leaders (like Mr. Duncan) will continue to evolve in this process too.
Thanks,
Renee
[…] One of my reasons for becoming active on Social Media was to engage people of influence in the discussion of education. I soon found out that there were several circles of influence that were drivi… […]
Tom,
You are right. Like so many others, I was astonished that Arne Duncan was following me. I had previously responded to and tried to interact with him online and was unsuccessful. I wondered what the heck I had done to get his attention when I saw he was following me, and hoped it was not something that would get me in trouble :-p
It wasn’t long before the mystery of the follow was solved and I am appreciative that you shared the names of so many people for whom I have such great respect.
I was someone who openly asked educators in my PLN what my first direct message to him should be. I don’t think this should be viewed as a problem. I took this opportunity very seriously and my first order of business when someone who has power to influence the direction of education in our country is to engage that person. Did I expect an acknowledgement from him after doing so? Perhaps it was naive, but yes, I did and I still do. I do have a higher expectation of our secretary of education (who is backing connected educator month) than a teacher who is new to connected education. I believe part of Duncan’s job is not to just talk about and promote connected education, but to also engage in the conversation with connected educators.
I find it disappointing that Duncan’s staff was worried that some of the most passionate and vocal connected educators would harrang Duncan. These educators deserve more respect than to be accused of potential haranguing. These educators are the ones working in the school system. I would hope that Duncan would be interested to hear what they have to say, and yes, I would hope he would do as you suggested and take some time each day to read and interact with those of us doing this work.
I do believe that the connected educators by and large would engage in professional conversation with our education secretary, but as the face of connected educator month, he does not receive the courtesy of a long and drawn out learning curve as a teacher just learning about what this means.
I do hope that someone on his team encourages him to interact and at least acknowledge those who take the time to reach out to him with their thoughts and concerns.
Oh, and if anyone is wondering, here was my DM to Mr. Duncan:
Thank you for the follow. This post outlines what that means to connected educators like me http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2013/09/being-connected-educator-means-being-in.html
I don’t expect he will respond immediately, but I do think that at some point Mr. Duncan has to move away from excuses and toward accountability. You know. Just like he expects our teachers to do.