Living Life to Its Fullest and Owning It- Kim Pollishuke's P3
- Noa Daniel
- Jul 17, 2018
- 5 min read
Kim Pollishuke is a Digital Literacy Resource Teacher (DLRT) in Ontario, Canada, a Google for Education Certified Innovator (MTV16), Trainer and Educator and a keynote speaker. She is also a contributing author of Creating the Dynamic Classroom: A Handbook For Teachers. Her goal is to help educators understand the power technology can have in giving a platform for student voice, connecting students to the wider global community and ultimately creating confident, innovative, digital citizens for the 21st century.
Kim’s EdTech inclinations have depth and breadth. Beyond her role as a DLRT, her name has become synonymous with EdTech. She is one of the EdTechTeam speakers (EdTechTeam California Summit June 30-July 1, 2018). This year, Kim and Jen Giffen started a show titled “Shukes and Giff The Podcast”. They work for the same board on the same team supporting elementary and secondary schools respectively. Their podcast is a fun, tech-focused conversation that sounds a lot like themselves and how they interact socially, in front of an audience, live or on VoicEd Radio, or even when guiding presenters to prepare for EdTech Camp on Air. They sound perpetually excited and have a great repartee. Kim is like that with the many people with whom she collaborates. She said that she feels lucky and grateful to work with the teams that she does. “It’s a wonderful position, and I love it.”
Kim and I first met through her kindness. I reached out to her as the teacher of a friend’s child after hearing the great work she was doing with her class using the 20% Time model. This was right before beginning her present regional role. Kim graciously offered to speak to me on the phone and openly shared resources, setting me up with what became a very clear vision and highly successful project.
Kim was on a kid-free day at Canada's Wonderland with friends and started discussing the songs she would choose for her appearance on The Personal Playlist Podcast. “We went through a whole bunch of songs on that day,” but she was looking for something that really speaks to her. A few days later, she was at a cottage with this same group of friends, and this song came on the radio. The friends all reminisced about going to a club or hearing this song at a party. “They’d turn the music off, multiple times during the song, and you'd just hear everybody sing at the same time.” The amazing feeling that it gave her, looking back, and sense of community she felt reminded her of the social experience of watching 90210 on Wednesday nights when there was no PVR. Teens and young adults across North America gathered in front of their TV’s to experience the episode together.
That shared experience in a community that was so powerful for Kim when she was younger is what came back to her when she heard this song that night with her friends. “I remember feeling that unity at parties and not understanding why I loved it so much. But now, as an adult, I see the value of a PLN...when I’m in those environments at conferences or summits or in schools, where there’s that connection and you feel that sense of belonging, that’s the same feeling I got through this song when I was younger.” Sometimes, looking back gives us the ability to identify and express a feeling that we weren't always aware of or that sticks with us to be named at a later time. It was so special that she was with her friends when she decided to choose this for her nostalgic song. Here is Livin on a Prayer by Bon Jovi:
Kim’s identity song has many layers that are both personal and reminiscent of a highlight in her teaching career. Kim believes that she will take the risk and not let the fear take over in her life. The idiomatic notion that life is short and that we need to make the most of it is a message that resonates throughout this song. This song also reflects the way Kim hopes she can live. She described the lyrics as one aspect of the song, focusing on a child living with a particular illness and someone who lives every day to the fullest. This is something she wants for herself and her children. The other aspect of the song connects to her class at Nellie McClung P.S. from her last year before entering her present position. “This song really sums up our year together. That we just really did what we wanted to do- did it with our full energy and heart. We performed this song as a flash mob for the school. So, whenever I hear this song, I not only think about its meaning, but I connect it back to that experience that I had with that class and that grade and how I much I miss them and love them.” Here is I Lived by One Republic:
From a deep song reflective of a growth mindset and grit to a song that helps reframe the day, Kim selected a pick-me-up song for which she says she may have never actually listened to the lyrics. “...I just know that this is my car dancing song.” This is always the first on this playlist. It’s a tune that she turns up to which she has a “full out dance party in [her] car.” It is a song that is a little escape and has the power to alter her mood because, “It’s pure fun.” This song is also the title of the debut album by this artist who was in a famous pop duo before that. His solo career spanned the next two decades before his untimely death in 2016. Here is Faith by George Michael:
It’s always difficult to curate a P3 (link to come). Kim had debated Hurt So Good by John Mellencamp for her pick-me-up, but when she played them both side by side, she danced harder to Faith. Her alternate identity song was This is Me from the Greatest Showman. “I really connect to that song...it’s taken me a long time to really say this is me, take it or leave it. I have a lot of flaws, and I’m going to own them. This is just who I am.” Coming to a place of owning who you are is a potent experience, and Kim is sharing so many aspects of herself through her podcast, Shukes and Giff, through keynotes and ignites, and other presentations. If you want to learn more about Kim or learn from her, check out her website, youtube channel, through her edtech resources site and through her blogging on We Inquire and Inspire. Here is a list of some of the places you can see Kim in the coming months:
August 15-17 WRDSB CATC Camp - Keynote (private event)
August 27-29 Canmore, Alberta Custom Summit - Keynote (private event)
October 19-20 EdTechTeam Kamloops, B.C. Summit - Keynote (tickets still available)
November 23-24 EdTechTeam Victoria, B.C. 2018 Tech For Learning Summit - Keynote (tickets still available)
Comments