This Salinas kindergarten teacher is getting creative with social media platforms

By Angelaydet Rocha
The Californian

August 6, 2020 — Salinas, CA

(Photo credit: Ben Cogswell)

Ben Cogswell, a tech-savvy Bardin Elementary School kindergarten teacher, is sharing his plan across it across the web

Remote learning and working are the new “normal.”

What does that mean for the young ones, 5 and 6 years old, who were about to start their education journey in kindergarten? While adults may have a difficult time adapting to the remote world, children have an even greater challenge ahead. 

But not all hope is lost. 

Ben Cogswell, a tech-savvy Bardin Elementary School kindergarten teacher, has a plan and he’s sharing it across the web.

In his third year of teaching at Bardin Elementary, things took a rapid turn when a district-wide school shutdown was announced. However, it switched a lightbulb on in the Salinas teacher’s head — social media is the answer. 

“I was worried about communicating with my families,” he said. “I really thought about what most families use, social media. What’s the platform that most adults use —Facebook and YouTube.”

Cogswell created the Facebook page, Kinder Rockets, which rapidly grew in popularity and now has 1,356 followers and 1,103-page likes.

“It started out just kind of keeping connected, sharing things, sharing videos. It was another way for parents to access me and it really turned into the public face of my classroom,” he said. “I wanted to create a space not only for my students, but there are people all over the country that are having trouble. …if I can provide this content for free, that I’m already doing for my students, that’s going to be helpful for somebody else.”

Continue reading here: https://www.thecalifornian.com/story/news/2020/07/27/salinas-kindergarten-teacher-getting-creative-social-media/5513847002/

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Tagged Remote learning, Salinas, Shelter at home