Howard Rheingold's Net Smart (Chapter 5 & 6)

     Rheingold introduces the idea of networked individualism by explaining how a parent complained of not knowing who his/her friends were anymore. Plans are made through text message and friends don't have to come to the door anymore. This thought scares me as a parent. I can't wrap my head around not knowing who has 24/7 access to my child.

     One of the weirdest experiences I had recently was to be the class parent in my daughter's preschool class. It was the first time I observed my daughter as a member of a group. I saw who she chose to play with and what her role within each interaction was. I was extremely proud to see that she didn't interact with the "bad kids" (those of the create-a-mess-and-don't-clean-it-up ilk).

     I started to think about my own social interactions. Anyone who has spent more than just our class time with me will tell you that I'm socially awkward. I could be in the middle of a conversation with someone and then I will have a moment where I think to myself, "You're doing it. You're having an adult conversation!" Then that's all I can think about and I look for an exit strategy.

     But this oddness has helped me to build quite a diverse network. I don't have many close friendships but I have many people who kinda-sorta know me. What they know of me, they like. At work, I'm generally regarded as a hard-working, dependable guy with a good sense of humor. Because of this, I have good relationships with my vice principal, instructional leader, and several colleagues who served various committees in the district. Their opinion of me (which is right, by the way) is why I get a lot of inside information about what's going on in my school. It's also why Michael Quan used to hook me up with extra cheese on my McDonald's in high school.

www.mcmcapital.com

     Managing my boundaries at work have helped to build this trust and therefore my social capital.  
I remember the first time I hun gout with co-workers outside of work. It was like I was shedding the old me, who had certain friends because that's who I had gone to school with. Now I was choosing adult friends, some of whom were 10-20 years older than me. Seven of us were hired in the English department at the same time, so we have deep relationships that continue to this day.

     I had seen examples of close-knit co-workers in the past. When one of my math teachers in high school was diagnosed with cancer, other faculty members helped her out by donating days off when she ran out of her own or by driving her to doctor appointments when necessary. Such banding together of co-workers is a beautiful thing, and makes me think about those I work with. Would we do that for one another? Would I?

     Just this past Saturday one colleague lost her mother-in-law suddenly to a heart attack. Within an hour of finding out, another co-worker was at her house, watching over the kids so she could take care of arrangements. Perhaps Johanek would argue that it's merely a natural response from a female humanities teacher.

     I almost forgot to add meaningful outcomes that I would like to see from the course. I know this isn't something everyone is necessarily interested in, but I want more tools that I can use in the classroom. What can I use to engage the students that will also help with the learning outcomes that have been established for them? Also, since I teach a lot of writing, what can help students discover their own style while building confidence? This is very vague, but it's what is floating around in my head.