I have been thinking about the pros and cons of educator personal branding. On one side, it seems that the motivation to do something worth being "known" for would be good thing - building expertise and sharing it with others (for a price) - what could be a better example of commercialism feeling growth? Everyone wants to feel valued and make a difference. I often feel the "need" to brand myself so that I "feel" that I have something that is valued by others.
My fear, however, about educator branding is two-fold. Often I find that teachers just change the wording of a known or prior concept, take ownership of that, and package it in a way that other teachers would want to purchase. Teachers then use their own financial resources to get what could be freely available elsewhere. The teachers who are in the process of "branding" may not be interested in collaborating (or sharing credit) since that would impact their branding. What they want to do, in my observation, is team up with other educators who are branding and then promote each others. This creates an additional power to generate revenue but, I fear, it may not actually provide teachers with the correct resources. The third concern is about the teachers own learning. I wonder if it wouldn't be better for other (each) teachers to actually do some thinking for themselves and do the research - building their personal construct of the "truth" for themselves. Why are teachers so quick to "hero worship" instead of create their own truth and build their own strategies? Is it because it easier to just use what has been packaged or is it because they are unable to think outside of the box and create something for themselves that works for their students. In conclusion: I truly enjoy reading and learning from educators who have gone to the work to "brand" themselves and share valuable insight. Educators like Katie Martin, George Couros, Will Richardson, Sir Ken Robinson, and many more have provided me with many ideas to ponder and determine what fits for me. I also enjoy creating my own ideas from other research and my own experiences. Sometimes I wonder if my ideas would be something I could "brand" like these others or if I should just consume from these stalwarts of educational reform.
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CategoriesJames KlassenI am a teacher. I have held various teaching positions, mostly in Abbotsford, BC, Canada, since 1987. I believe that teachers have the opportunity to inspire deep and meaningful learning and that all learners create their knowledge in ways that are connected to their interests and within their social context. I have observed many waves of educational "reform" come and go and remain hopeful that schools will be transformed into places where all learners desire to be creators and consumers of knowledge and that, together, each member of this community will become prepared to face their world in both skills and attitudes. |