Getting to Know the Teachers of Instagram
After I graduated last year I stopped using the majority of my social media accounts as a part of my healing process. The only account I still use periodically is Instagram - I can't resist the comedy gems, celebrity updates, and overall beauty of the pictures people post on there. While I do love to look at the beautifully taken photos, Instagram can also be irritating because it is painfully obvious that the goal is always to look impressive. People only post the most beautiful angles of themselves, the most perfectly organized desks, the most aesthetically pleasing meals. The teacher world of Instagram, I have found to be no different.
To find teacher pages, I tried searched "teaching" and "teaching high school" to see what pictures people have associated with those hashtags. Many of the results were pictures of pretty worksheets, handouts, classroom setups, etc. that teachers had made and wanted to show off. I got the sense that it was mostly showing off, not genuinely sharing resources, because the vast majority of the pictures were taken in a way that made the handouts look impressive and beautiful but impossible to replicate (partial images, papers on top of one another, etc.). A prime example of this was the account @stacey.lloyd - I was pretty awestruck by her Instagram feed because it is so stunning to look at. There are images of her workspaces, her classroom decor, her personalized handouts on literary devices and so on. All of these pictures paint a gorgeous picture of what her life as a teacher looks like, and it is simultaneously inspiring and intimidating.
The piece of teacher Instagram that I genuinely enjoyed scrolling through is the pictures of "real" teacher life. For example, teachers sharing pictures of funny notes their students wrote on their homework, videos of students being silly or accomplishing something their proud of, and teachers celebrating their work and their students' work. In these aspects, Instagram can be an powerful place of connection for teachers to share relatable or moving moments from their daily lives with fellow teachers, and bond over those experiences. I loved reading through comments and seeing teachers relate to one another, share stories, say that the post inspired them, and/or share tips.
I can't see myself becoming an teacher Instagramer (for the same reasons that I don't Instagram my life right now), but I did find a few accounts to follow and draw inspiration from for my future classroom. My only concern is that I will end up becoming completely surrounded by people in my field and feeling like there is no world outside of schools. If even my social media becomes filled with ideas for handouts and classroom decorations, where am I going to escape it? I say that partially in jest, but I genuinely do want to start figuring out how to find balance between work and life as soon as possible, beginning with what I choose to do in my free time.
To find teacher pages, I tried searched "teaching" and "teaching high school" to see what pictures people have associated with those hashtags. Many of the results were pictures of pretty worksheets, handouts, classroom setups, etc. that teachers had made and wanted to show off. I got the sense that it was mostly showing off, not genuinely sharing resources, because the vast majority of the pictures were taken in a way that made the handouts look impressive and beautiful but impossible to replicate (partial images, papers on top of one another, etc.). A prime example of this was the account @stacey.lloyd - I was pretty awestruck by her Instagram feed because it is so stunning to look at. There are images of her workspaces, her classroom decor, her personalized handouts on literary devices and so on. All of these pictures paint a gorgeous picture of what her life as a teacher looks like, and it is simultaneously inspiring and intimidating.
The piece of teacher Instagram that I genuinely enjoyed scrolling through is the pictures of "real" teacher life. For example, teachers sharing pictures of funny notes their students wrote on their homework, videos of students being silly or accomplishing something their proud of, and teachers celebrating their work and their students' work. In these aspects, Instagram can be an powerful place of connection for teachers to share relatable or moving moments from their daily lives with fellow teachers, and bond over those experiences. I loved reading through comments and seeing teachers relate to one another, share stories, say that the post inspired them, and/or share tips.
I can't see myself becoming an teacher Instagramer (for the same reasons that I don't Instagram my life right now), but I did find a few accounts to follow and draw inspiration from for my future classroom. My only concern is that I will end up becoming completely surrounded by people in my field and feeling like there is no world outside of schools. If even my social media becomes filled with ideas for handouts and classroom decorations, where am I going to escape it? I say that partially in jest, but I genuinely do want to start figuring out how to find balance between work and life as soon as possible, beginning with what I choose to do in my free time.
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