From a Teacher’s Desk: Twitterverse

Look past your thoughts, so you may drink the pure nectar of This Moment. ~ Rumi

Leonard Quilty

Leonard Quilty, Courtesy of Gazette Grande

Are you part of the twitterverse? Have you joined the conversation that clips along at 140 characters a tweet? If you have, maybe you agree that this microblogging tool called Twitter is one of the most fascinating things to come by in a long time.


Earlier this month I came across an interesting tweet. It was actually a retweet, by author Robin Sharma of something posted by another author, Tom Peters. The message read as follows: “Winner’s 6: Choose your attitude. Take the lead. Listen intently. Learn something new. Help someone. Arrive early/leave late.”

Because of serendipitous discoveries like that, I’m really enamored with Twitter. If you are indeed part of the twitterverse, you already know that depending on whom you follow there is quite often something of value riding along the stream of tweets. Whenever I’m trolling through the messages, it’s like I’m sitting in a classroom and there is a news ticker (of tweets) rolling across the bottom of the whiteboard. I envision it’s my job as a student to do a scan of the flowing text to ferret out the nuggets of knowledge that interest me. I see it as dedicating about twenty to thirty minutes a day to my personal learning network. It’s fun!

Okay, I have a confession to make! Just when I finished writing the sentence above I checked my Twitter account. Here’s one of the tweets I read. It’s from Dawn Abraham, who quoted the great motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar: “Be helpful. When you see a person without a smile, give him yours.” Isn’t that cool? It ties in directly with number 5 of the Winner’s 6 – help someone.

Sorry, just one more. Here’s one sent by Chris Voss. It’s also a quote – one by Joel Osteen: “God works where there is an attitude of faith.” Now that one is definitely related to number 1 of the Winner’s 6 – choose your attitude. Do you see a pattern here?!

During my free time, and when I’m not checking my Twitter feed, I do like to spend time reading and writing, and pursuing other interests of mine – like bike riding. Now that spring has finally sprung, today (April 28) I decided to take a ride along the pathway that runs parallel to the Sheep River here in Okotoks. The conditions today were ideal for bike enthusiasts – a sunny sky and a temperature of 16C.

When I arrived at the pedestrian bridge that arcs over the river, I decided to take a break and just savor the pleasant view. I really admire the snowcapped panorama of the Rocky Mountains in the background; but more than anything I love to listen to the murmuring sound of the water as it races by.

I don’t know. I guess being raised about 100 yards from an arm of the Atlantic Ocean and watching the ebb and flow of the tide on a daily basis has left an indelible impression on me.

Quite frankly, I was often in awe of the ocean on my doorstep. With each new sunrise, I was eager to discover its mood. One day the waves would be lapping placidly at the shoreline. On other days, when the wind was up, the tide’s swell would swirl angrily along the beach.

Then (quite often the very next day), when the wind’s fury was spent, the water in the cove below our property was a shimmering mirror reflecting the majesty of the pine clad hills (to borrow a phrase from the famous ode to Newfoundland) on the far shore.

Okay, just one more tweet! I promise. It’s the last one! As I was pondering the beauty of the ocean near my childhood home, and thinking about the gentle flow of the Sheep River, I checked Twitter and came across an inspiring message from Kevin Green. (It’s actually a retweet of an Anne Frank quote tweeted by Barry Fenner.)“Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy.”

 Leonard Quilty is a guidance counsellor with the Centre for Learning@Home in Okotoks, Alberta. He can be reached by e-mail at lquilty5@gmail.com, or visit his website at www.inspiredtoteach.com.