My Town Tutors

Twitter Tip: Don’t Follow Anyone EXCEPT…

mmolloy — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:05:21 +0000

My Town Tutors believes “Teachers are Great Tutors” and that less is more when it comes to following on twitter.

In terms of following, some accounts join twitter and immediately feel the need to follow anyone and everyone. These accounts develop a poor following-to-follower ratio and are constantly fighting an uphill battle to get back to a 1-to-1 ratio.

We highly discourage this approach.

Follow NO MORE than one account per day. Research the account, understand their goals and their audience and if these are consistent with your philosophy, follow them. Do not be tempted to follow anymore accounts EXCEPT…. solid accounts that follow you.

When people follow you it is perfectly normal and expected to follow back if your accounts compliment each other. HOWEVER, simply because an account follows you, does not mean you have to follow themback. (In some cases, we may even “block” an account that follows us if it is an “adult” account.)

We have 2 experiments to test our hypothesis.

1. @MyTownTutorsNE which is following one account a day for the next year after unfollowing over 500 accounts – EXTREME twitter tip: Unfollow Everyone!

For the next 365 @MyTownTutorsNE will follow one twitter account each day. A great deal of time and thought goes into the selection of which accounts to follow. Click here to see an updated list of the elite accounts being followed by @MyTownTutorsNE.

2. @MyTownTutorsNW along the same lines, this account will only follow one account a week to establish solid and deep relationships with elite accounts with similar goals. They will start following in August of 2013. The 1st tweet will be on July 4th.

Please follow these accounts to see if our theory works! We would love feedback!

4th of July Songs: 15 Great American Songs

mmolloy — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:12:18 +0000

My Town Tutors is a website that connects parents with teachers who tutor. If you are a teacher who tutors, please, consider registering with us. Teachers set the hourly rate and keep 100% of the fees! One of our teachers made $5,000 last year tutoring.

It is FREE for parents to search for a teacher in their area. Please help us find ONE MORE teacher who tutors!Happy 4th of July. We would like to share our favorite American Songs. We hope you enjoy!

We would love feedback, including songs we may have missed. We hope to have an update before the 4th!

15. “American Made” Oak Ridge Boys

14. “We’re an American Band” by Grand Funk Railroad

13. “Fortunate Son” Creedence Clearwater Revival

12. “American Woman” The Guess Who

11. R.O.C.K. in the USA by John Mellencamp

10. “American Pie” Don McLean

9. “American Girl” Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

8. “God Bless the U.S.A.” Lee Greenwood

7. “America” Neil Diamond

6. “Born in the U.S.A” Bruce Springsteen

5. “This Land Is Your Land” Woody Guthrie

4. “Philadelphia Freedom” by Elton John

3. “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue” by Toby Keith

2. “America, the Beautiful” by Ray Charles

1. “The Star-Spangled Banner” by Jimi Hendrix

Founding Fathers: 56 Ben Franklin Quotes

mmolloy — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:10:21 +0000

It is FREE for parents to search for a teacher in their area. Please help us find ONE MORE teacher who tutors!

My Town Tutors loves history. In honor of the 4th of July, we are compiling great quotes from the founding fathers.

Below are quotes from Ben Franklin:

“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” Ben Franklin
“They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither safety nor liberty.” Ben Franklin
“Where liberty dwells, there is my country.” Ben Franklin
“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” Ben Franklin
“He that lieth down with dogs shall rise up with fleas.” Ben Franklin
“If you would not be forgotten, As soon as you are dead and rotten, Either write things worthy reading, Or do things worth the writing.” Ben Franklin
“Never confuse motion with action.” Ben Franklin
“This will be the best security for maintaining our liberties. A nation of well-informed men who have been taught to know and prize the rights which God has given them cannot be enslaved. It is in the religion of ignorance that tyranny begins.” Ben Franklin
Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do.” Ben Franklin
“Whatever is begun in anger ends in shame.” Ben Franklin
“To find out a girl’s faults, praise her to her girl friends.” Ben Franklin
“Freedom is not a gift bestowed upon us by other men, but a right that belongs to us by the laws of God and nature.” Ben Franklin
“Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become more corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.” Ben Franklin
“The Constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself.” Ben Franklin
“He’s a fool who cannot conceal his wisdom.” Ben Franklin
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” Ben Franklin
“Eat to live, and not live to eat.” Ben Franklin
“After three days men grow weary, of a wench, a guest, and weather rainy.” Ben Franklin
“Necessity never made a good bargain.” Ben Franklin
“Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.” Ben Franklin
“Tis easy to see, hard to foresee.” Ben Franklin
“God helps them that help themselves.” Ben Franklin
“The worst wheel of a cart makes the most noise.” Ben Franklin
“There are three faithful friends — an old wife, an old dog, and ready money.” Ben Franklin
“Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards.” Ben Franklin
“Experience keeps a dear school, but fools will learn in no other.” Ben Franklin
“When the well’s dry, we know the worth of water.” Ben Franklin
“Does thou love life? Then do not squander time; for that’s the stuff life is made of.” Ben Franklin
“Little strokes, Fell great oaks.” Ben Franklin
“Work as if you were to live a hundred years. Pray as if you were to die tomorrow.” Ben Franklin
“Fish and visitors stink after three days.” Ben Franklin
“Well done is better than well said.” Ben Franklin
“Keep thy shop, and thy shop will keep thee.” Ben Franklin
“Those who in quarrels interpose, must often wipe a bloody nose.” Ben Franklin
“He that hath a Trade, hath an Estate.” Ben Franklin
“Fear not death; for the sooner we die, the longer shall we be immortal.” Ben Franklin
“Love your Neighbour; yet don’t pull down your Hedge.” Ben Franklin
“People who are wrapped up in themselves make small packages.” Ben Franklin
“Read much, but not too many books.” Ben Franklin
“He that speaks much, is much mistaken.” Ben Franklin
“Glass, China, and Reputation, are easily crack’d, and never well mended.” Ben Franklin
“A good example is the best sermon.” Ben Franklin
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Ben Franklin
“He that lives upon hope will die fasting.” Ben Franklin
“A little neglect may breed great mischief…for want of a nail the shoe was lost; for want of a shoe the horse was lost; and for want of a horse the rider was lost.” Ben Franklin
“Remember that time is money.” Ben Franklin
“We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.” Ben Franklin
“There was never a good war or a bad peace.” Ben Franklin
“Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in the world nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes.” Ben Franklin
“Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” Ben Franklin
“Doing an injury puts you below your enemy; revenging one make you but even with him; forgiving it sets you above him.” Ben Franklin
“Genius without education is like silver in the mine.” Ben Franklin
“Sell not virtue to purchase wealth, nor liberty to purchase power.” Ben Franklin
“Old boys have their playthings as well as young ones; the difference is only in the price.” Ben Franklin
“The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason.” Ben Franklin
“A penny saved is a penny earned.” Ben Franklin

Dean College: 5 Reasons to Discover the “Dean Difference”

mmolloy — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:13:44 +0000

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#1st52: The Massachusetts Edition

My Town Tutors is currently reflecting on who our #1st52 twitter accounts would be if we were to start all over. In making our first choices, we believe it is important that “We Take Care of Our Own!”

The following is a list our our #1st52. It is based on the idea, “If I were to start all over on twitter, with what I know now, who would I follow and why?” This is the Massachusetts Edition, so there certainly is a biased.

Here we go. We hope you like our list and will follow all of them. We fully stand behind our choices 100%. #10 to follow is @DeanCollege.

@DeanCollege – “We’re Dean College in Franklin, Massachusetts. Follow us, tweet us, and Discover the #DeanDifference in 140 characters or less. Tweets by @JoshSinger33. Franklin, MA · dean.edu”

Like our previous choices, we are trying to introduce each one with a music video. For Dean College, we felt the need to share TWO! Thanks Adam Sandler! (Click on the link to take you to the song.)

“Chanukah Song” by Adam Sandler

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeC8nTYEwQQ

“The Turkey Song” by Adam Sandler

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47e91Nc0Mag

5 Reasons to Discover the Dean Difference

Adam Sandler representing Dean College in Grown-ups 2.
Great “Welcome to Dean College” video (1:54) highlighting Dean College, the campus, the faculty and the great opportunities for personal and academic growth.
2013 – 2014 Dance and Theater Performances. One of the best programs in Massachusetts.
A great virtual tour!
Amazing Summer Learning Opportunities!

Here are the other members of our 1st 52:

Massachusettts Families: 10 Reasons We Love the Trustees

mmolloy — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:21:21 +0000

It is FREE for parents to search for a teacher in their area. Please help us find ONE MORE teacher who tutors!

#1st52: The Massachusetts Edition

Here we go. We hope you like our list and will follow all of them. We fully stand behind our choices 100%. #9 to follow is @thetrustees.

Like our previous choices, we are trying to introduce each one with a music video.

“Mother Nature” by John Denver

@thetrustees – We’re The Trustees of Reservations. We love the outdoors. We love Massachusetts’ special places. And we celebrate & protect them – for everyone, forever! Massachusetts · thetrustees.org

The Trustees is an amazing resource for Massachusetts families. Please click on the links below to learn more.

10 Reasons We Love The Trustees

Great reservations to visit in all areas of Massachusetts.
Special events that are great for families.
Volunteer Opportunities - either one-time or ongoing.
Ideas to explore on your own.
They support local farms and provide educational opportunities.
Great Community Supported Agricultural Programs.
The Stewardship Code provides excellent guidelines to support the environment.
Awesome Map Libraries so you can download information before visiting.
List of great places to stay.
Opportunities to rent out a location for a private function.

Other members of our 1st 52 to follow:

@divstrong - Top 10 Reasons DivStrong is Our #1: #1st52
@BCHigh – 10 Reasons Why BC High is Our #2 Twitter Account
@massteacher – 33 Reasons @MassTeacher is a #1st52 Account
@onefund – Follow @OneFundBoston #1st52 Twitter Account
@PragmaticMom – Pragamatic Mom: 10 Reasons We Love @PragmaticMom
@MassPTA – 30 Reasons @MassPTA is an Perfect for Parents
@NormandinBill – 5 Reasons @NormandinBill is a Great Account for Education
@PatrickMLarkin – 5 Reasons to follow @PatrickMLarkin

@NEAMedia Twitter Account of the Day

mmolloy — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:56:16 +0000

It is FREE for parents to search for a teacher in their area. Please help us find ONE MORE teacher who tutors!

@MyTownTutorsNE is trying an experiment to expand our PLN. We did something incredibly drastic – EXTREME TWITTER TIP: We Unfollowerd Everyone!

We are slowly going to build up our “Following” by adding one more valuable account each day. As time will allow, we will write a blog about our choices. Some time we may only list the account and leave it up to others to figure out why we made our selection.

This should be fun. Each week we will announce the new accounts we will follow.

Twitter Account of the Day:

@NEAMedia – “Media team for the National Education Association, sharing #education and NEA news. Tweets do not equal endorsement. Washington, DC · nea.org”

Here is our previous choices:

#1: @massteacher – “Massachusetts Teachers Association. Boston, Mass. · massteacher.org” 33 Reasons @MassTeacher is a #1st52 Account

#2 @ceanews – “CEA is the largest advocate for public education in Connecticut. Our 43,000 members include K-12 public school teachers, retired teachers & college students. Hartford, CT · cea.org”

We will be following one account a day until we reach 365. Please follow these great accounts and check for updates on our 1st 52 page.

@mytowntutorsNW: June 18, 2013 Update

mmolloy — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 12:52:35 +0000

We are looking at how the worst twitter account in the world can develop into one of the most respectable accounts. We will be posting our progress from that first day.

1st Day: June 4, 2013 – 0 tweets, 0 following, 0 followers, 5/100 Tweetgrade
Week #1: June 11, 2013 – 0 tweets, 0 following, 3 followers, 10/100 Tweetgrade
Week #2: June 18, 2013 – 0 tweets, 0 following, 9 followers, 10/100 Tweetgrade (tweetgrade does not currently list ranking, hopefully it is coming back soon)

Tasks completed:

~~No profile description~~ – They did create a profile, but it seems a little weird. 3 Twitter Tips to Double Your Tweetgrade Score, but boy the profile is still bad.
~~No followers~~ – They have an impressive following of 3. Not too impressive.
~~Improve Tweetgrade:~~to double a tweet score is very impressive. Can the score double again next week?
~~Location:~~ Nice work. We know how difficult it is to add your location.
~~Blog:~~ Nice work. We know how difficult it is to add your location. We hear it is pretty good.
Add a website to the profile: Well you have one, why wouldn’t you promote it?
~~Add an image~~ – They still have not updated this. LAZY.

To Do List:

Tweet – Still not a word!
Improve Tweetgrade – keep looking to improve the score
Follow Someone – Come on it is twitter.

Notable follower: @NEAMedia This is such a legitimate account. Very impressive!

Previous blogs

The Worst Twitter Account in the WORLD is @mytowntutorsNW

Twitter & Education: The Best and Worst Accounts

The Worst Twitter Account Week #1 Results: Decent Improvement

For additional twitter tip click here!

5 Reasons to Follow @PatrickMLarkin

mmolloy — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 07:18:28 +0000

#1st52: The Massachusetts Edition

Here we go. We hope you like our list and will follow all of them. We fully stand behind our choices 100%. #8 to follow is @PatrickMLarkin.

He works in Burlington and this video is in honor of the Burlington High School Boys Hockey State Champions. Patrick is also a champion of education and technology.

He is a great role model for how to use technology to expand a PLN. He has been very generous sharing his knowledge with us over the past few years.
He was recognized as a 2012 Digital Principal of the Year
We consider his blog to be one of the best in education.
He is a connected educator.
He was kind enough to share a guest blog with us: Patrick Larkin’s Top 5 Twitter Accounts for Teachers

Here are the other members of our #1st52

@divstrong - Top 10 Reasons DivStrong is Our #1: #1st52
@BCHigh – 10 Reasons Why BC High is Our #2 Twitter Account
@massteacher – 33 Reasons @MassTeacher is a #1st52 Account
@onefund – Follow @OneFundBoston #1st52 Twitter Account
@PragmaticMom – Pragamatic Mom: 10 Reasons We Love @PragmaticMom
@MassPTA – 30 Reasons @MassPTA is an Perfect for Parents
@NormandinBill – 5 Reasons @NormandinBill is a Great Account for Education

@ceanews is the Twitter Account of the Day!

mmolloy — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 05:32:32 +0000

It is FREE for parents to search for a teacher in their area. Please help us find ONE MORE teacher who tutors!

@MyTownTutorsNE is trying an experiment to expand our PLN. We did something incredibly drastic – EXTREME TWITTER TIP: We Unfollowerd Everyone!

This should be fun. Each week we will announce the new accounts we will follow.

Twitter Account of the Day:

@ceanews – “CEA is the largest advocate for public education in Connecticut. Our 43,000 members include K-12 public school teachers, retired teachers & college students. Hartford, CT · cea.org”

Here is our previous choices:

#1: @massteacher – “Massachusetts Teachers Association. Boston, Mass. · massteacher.org” 33 Reasons @MassTeacher is a #1st52 Account

We will be following one account a day until we reach 365. Please follow these great accounts!

@massteacher is the Twitter Account of the Day!

mmolloy — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:27:49 +0000

@MassTeacher Joins New England 65 DRAFT

It is FREE for parents to search for a teacher in their area. Please help us find ONE MORE teacher who tutors!

@MyTownTutorsNE is trying an experiment to expand our PLN. We did something incredibly drastic – EXTREME TWITTER TIP: We Unfollowerd Everyone!

This should be fun. Each week we will announce the new accounts we will follow.

Twitter Account of the Day:

#1: @massteacher – “Massachusetts Teachers Association. Boston, Mass. · massteacher.org” 33 Reasons @MassTeacher is a #1st52 Account