Comments on: Why branding shouldn’t be a dirty word in education

By: Elisa Waingort

Elisa Waingort — Sun, 01 Feb 2015 12:50:36 +0000

Hey Kari,
This year I am teaching 6th grade social studies also. I would love to hear what innovative things you are doing with your students. Do you have a blog where you are sharing these out?
Thanks,
Elisa

By: Jenny Aghomo

Jenny Aghomo — Sat, 31 Jan 2015 00:43:46 +0000

Hi Matt I’m the PTA VP of a small elementary school called John B. Cary.
I’ve been telling our principal this very thing. Unfortunately in the Richmond City school district if you want to be funded you need to have students attend your school. How do you do this? By treating your school as a business and if you do that you have to brand yourself accordingly. I really wish we had the chrome books and the tech devices that a lot of these schools have but we don’t. What I would love to do is to create a way to get donors and big businesses to notice us and want to give to our program. How can I start to do this? So far John B Cary has a PTA Fb page but that’s about it. I love Google myself and have a chromebook though I’m still learning how to use it. : )
I would really appreciate any advice you can give me. Jenny

By: Kelvin Robertson

Kelvin Robertson — Mon, 26 Jan 2015 22:49:27 +0000

Enjoyed this article. many thanks for articulating a perception Ive followed for some time about the relationship with our community (& wider)

By: Tiffany

Tiffany — Mon, 26 Jan 2015 18:31:26 +0000

I love this, Matt. I came here today not for this post, but for a recap on something you shared at Digi2014. I came here because I trust you as a professional and expert. Keep up the good work!

By: Ken Keene

Ken Keene — Mon, 26 Jan 2015 16:20:52 +0000

BRANDING for me is the difference between “delete” and “open”. With so many opportunities (?) coming my way electronically, BRANDING helps me to decide how to invest my limited time. Your BRAND is worth every minute!

By: Lori

Lori — Mon, 26 Jan 2015 13:59:30 +0000

In reply to Kari Catanzaro.

Ditto to both Matt and Kari! I recently participated in the CUE Online Conference last fall and the keynote speaker shared his thought that educators need to think like “surfers” and congratulate and support each when they catch a good wave or have a great ride. There are enough negatives in education that we should be there for each other…as #tlap states – “We are all on the same team!”… no matter where we reside.

Thanks for sharing!

By: Kari Catanzaro

Kari Catanzaro — Mon, 26 Jan 2015 12:50:10 +0000

Thank you for bringing this subject up, Matt! I share on Twitter and sometimes Facebook about things I do in my classr00m. Not for my own glory, but to share with other educators what has been successful for my students (and me) as we learn together. I often sense negative attitudes from other teachers about it, which can really be a downer when a lesson has been highly effective for the students and we are all excited about it. But you are exactly right- perception and impressions matter to our digital public, and the “brand” that we have as teachers/classrooms/schools makes a HUGE difference in how students (and their parents) approach our classrooms and schools. We need to be PROUD to have a successful, popular “brand” for the right reasons- because we as educators have worked hard with our students to make our teaching a success. We need to not judge other educators for their successes- most of them are doing it for the RIGHT reasons- but rather learn from each other and lift each other up. I love this quote from the blog “I believe in the message I’m trying to share, and I want to share it with as many people as I can.”. I agree- I feel like some great things are happening as my students and I learn together in our Social Studies 6 classroom, and I want to share it with as many other educators as I can to help effect positive change in Social Studies education (in this day and age of high stakes testing and core literacies, SS has to fight for our place at the table with innovation and enthusiasm and relevancy).

By: Beverly Litke

Beverly Litke — Mon, 26 Jan 2015 12:36:51 +0000

At first, I was going to say I don’t have a brand for myself. But that’s not true. Everything you say, do or believe is your brand-even if you don’t act on what you truly believe for fear of consequences or repercussion. Some have the confidence to strike out in a new or opposing direction and create a unique brand for themselves. Others are content to follow the status quo and use a pre-established brand. I’m not suggesting either way is inherently good or bad, just stating that all of us have a brand that could be used to describe us and our teaching philosophy and practice.