Listening to understand doesn’t obligate you to agree.
Your own beliefs aren’t diminished by learning a new perspective.
Quite the opposite: understanding is power.
Why are our leaders so loathe to say: “Based on new information, I’ve changed my mind.”
One reason is: toxic levels of PRIDE.
The pride that always goeth before the fall.
The pride that says: anyone who disagrees with me deserves my ridicule.
Normalize humble leadership.
The content of our character is revealed in every DM we send.
In every comment we leave, we weave together pieces of our digital legacy.
Someday, our families will inherit this legacy. What is it we will leave behind?
Let mine be: words of truth, kindly spoken.
We are accountable for the information we repost. Something being said in an authoritative tone with professional graphics doesn’t make it true. “I agree with it, so it’s true” isn’t the standard.
If you don’t have the ability, time, or desire to verify, don’t repost it.
We are here to be world changers and light bringers and fact finders and life givers and peace makers.
We are here to be the best kind of unreasonable.
Unreasonably generous.
Unreasonably compassionate.
Reasonable, modest goals are out.
It’s time to be unreasonable.
If, like me, you feel enraged and physically ill about the helpless tiny humans shot to death in cold blood at their school in TX: you should.
We all should. We should not turn our faces away because it’s too painful.
We SHOULD feel enraged.
And then we should do something.
I just spent the last six hours verifying with legal counsel and GoFundMe that these are legitimate.
Shaye Moss and Ruby Freeman testified with incredible courage today. Their commitment to democracy is commendable, 1/3
#January6thHearing
This is the amount of money my Instagram community just forgave in medical debt. 74,474 had their debt paid with no tax or credit consequences.
#penniesintomiracles
We are the embodiment of hope for each other. If we want more light in the world, let’s light some candles.
Don’t buy into the lie that your one candle is too small, too inconsequential.
Light is the only thing that overcomes darkness.
One light can change everything.
If we want less despair, less anger, less worry?
We must take action with hope and gratitude.
If we have life in our bodies, love in our hearts, hands that move? Then we have the power to do good.
Let us seek each day to alleviate the suffering of another.
#factsandhope
Governerds coming in hot this weekend, raising more than $500,000 to give directly to teachers in the form of
#governerdgrants
This is the power and promise of social media.
2/3 I have personally donated $12,500 to each of them, and would encourage you to help right the wrongs they’ve experienced in whatever way you can. Here is the verified GoFundMe for Shaye Moss:
#Jan6thCommittee
If we’re waiting forever the world to change, we’ll keep waiting.
If we work for change, it will come.
Perhaps slowly at first.
But often the fastest way to get somewhere is simply to begin walking.
Instead of seeking certainty, point your compass toward curiosity. It’s where all the interesting stuff to learn is.
Certainty is ripe with arrogant stagnation. Questions produce growth and intellectual maturity.
“Acceptance” doesn’t mean “approval.” Acceptance doesn’t always come with positive feelings.
But there’s a tremendous amount of freedom in accepting what you cannot change.
My community on Insta raised almost $44,000 overnight for
#rubyfreeman
and
#shayemoss
. I put it directly into their GoFundMes. The verified accounts are linked in a previous Tweet.
3/3 Here is the verified GoFundMe for Ruby Freeman, who says she doesn’t even want people she knows to greet her by name in public, out of fear for her safety.
#January6thHearings
If you care about living in a democracy, now is the time to pay attention.
We all want our children and the children in our communities to have a quality education. We can’t have that if we treat teachers like expendable enemies.
Arming teachers is not the answer.
In a search for solutions to the problem of children being murdered in cold blood at school, some have suggested arming teachers.
Here’s why this isn’t the answer, from a longtime teacher: Slide 1/10
30% of educators don’t see themselves in education five years from now.
Only 10% of teachers would strongly recommend the profession to a young person.
Let’s talk about why this is.
My new podcast, Sharon Says So, launches tomorrow, and I would love to have you listen, subscribe, rate, or review! So honored to already be
#1
on
@ApplePodcasts
❤️
The improbability of going to number one on all of Amazon when the book isn’t out yet? My team says they haven’t seen it in their 30 years of experience. Thank you so much. ❤️
Teachers don’t want to be law enforcement officers. If they did, they would have gone to the police academy. They don’t have the training to skillfully use a weapon under extraordinary pressure, nor did they go into teaching to do that. The lack of training is dangerous. 5/10
I’ve asked multiple members of Congress what would happen if they got a call or an email saying “Thanks for supporting ___.” They all say it would be highly noteworthy. Since what we’ve been doing isn’t working, let’s try something else.
There is not one credible law enforcement organization, nonprofit, school safety expert, or researcher who thinks arming teachers is the solution. Increasing the number of guns does not cause fewer gun deaths or correlate to less gun violence. 10/10
Anyone have a contact for the lawyers representing Shaye Moss and Ruby Freeman? Looking for a high quality lead to offer specific support. DMs are open.
Anyone have a contact for the lawyers representing Shaye Moss and Ruby Freeman? Looking for a high quality lead to offer specific support. DMs are open.
It’s developmentally inappropriate for children to interact with armed adults all day. Imagine being corrected for inappropriate behavior and knowing that the teacher is armed — how will children feel? Kids need warm attachments to their teachers, and weapons hurt that. 7/10
If the police are not legally required to protect citizens (see: Castle Rock v Gonzales), would teachers be? What if a shooter invades and a teacher doesn’t shoot? Are they liable? Can they be sued? If the police aren’t required, why teachers? 8/10
Last year, we raised $560,000 and gave $500 grants to 1,120 teachers.
This year, I want to raise $1 million to give 2,000 grants.
Teachers apply here:
Venmo: sharonsaysso
Cash App: $sharonsaysso
Credit cards/PayPal:
It requires specific training to be someone who runs towards danger. Katherine Schweit, the pioneer of FBI active shooter training, says police have to be in the right headspace to confront danger head on. It’s not reasonable to expect teachers to switch on a dime. 9/10
The building is on fire, and politicians are trying to create diversions to distract you while some officials try to put it out with bottled water.
You can’t care about children and not care about teachers.
There is no other group of teachers waiting in the wings.
Really excited to be reading and discussing The Righteous Mind with
@JonHaidt
in next semester’s Governerd Book Club. As of this writing, it’s 92% full.
We’re facing a critical teacher shortage. Teacher prep programs are not enrolling anywhere near the number of teachers needed, and there are unprecedented numbers of school resignations. Most teachers don’t want to be armed, and requiring them to be will worsen the issue. 4/10
Teachers would become targets for gun seekers. If would-be shooters know a teacher is carrying, they could plan to assault them and steal their weapon. Teachers cannot be hyper vigilant about securing their weapon and classroom, and simultaneously be caring and empathetic. 3/10
@elonmusk
@elonmusk
in the name of transparency, make the files publicly available for all, not one hand picked individual. Employee identities redacted, of course.
Children will be killed with the guns of teachers. Every year, 18,000 children are shot and killed or wounded by firearms. Exposing and desensitizing children to guns and gun violence is traumatic, and that trauma manifests itself in our communities with more gun violence. 6/10
It can slow emergency response time, and potentially kill more people. Anyone that’s armed on a scene has to be assessed by law enforcement for potential risks. The more weapons there are, the more difficult it is for them to determine who’s a good guy and who’s a bad guy. 2/10
It’s these kids we have to care about.
It’s these teachers we have to care about.
Not only do children and families benefit from having high quality teachers who enjoy coming to school every day, so does the community at large. So does the nation as a whole.
1. Lack of community respect. Teachers are constantly under attack in the public space. Everyone from politicians to pundits to parents are blaming teachers for all of society’s ills.
Politicians fundraise using messaging about how teachers are ruining children. It’s absurd.
One researcher stated: “This is a five-alarm crisis. We are facing an exodus as more than half of our nation’s teachers and other school staff are now indicating they’ll be leaving education sooner than planned.”
5. Lack of ability to actually spend time teaching and imparting the joy of learning.
65% of teachers today say that the bureaucracy surrounding education, like standardized testing, laws, policies, politics, and more, have made them less effective in the classroom.
3. Being overworked and unsupported, which leads to burnout.
There is likely no school that isn’t touched by unfilled positions, lack of substitutes, lack of counselors, psychologists, paraeducators, social workers, and lunch and recess staff.
2. Lack of pay and resources. Most teachers are not even provided with adequate materials to do their jobs. The fact that there are hundreds of “clear the list” initiatives this time of year is indicative of that.
4. Constant, unwavering stress.
The RAND corporation recently found that “a much higher proportion of teachers reported frequent job-related stress and symptoms of depression than the general adult population.”
Know My Name by Chanel Miller has hundreds of thousands of incredible reviews on Goodreads and Amazon, and meeting with Chanel will be a privilege. I expect the next semester of Governerd Book Club to sell out by Monday, if not sooner:
I am thrilled to see the success of The Revolutionary Samuel Adams by
@stacyschiff
— the book is incredible, and on many lists as a top book of 2022. She will also join us in next semester’s Governerd Book Club: