Do you blog?

Challenge: Should you choose to accept it...


Blog with me.  One day a week.  Blog about your classroom.  About your daily life.  What did you like? What did you not like? What great resource did you find? What questions did you leave unanswered?  What color shoes did you wear on Wednesday? 


I have attempted many blogs.  My first was when I studied abroad with my best friend Canden.  We had a joint one.  I then made one of my own...lasted 7 entries. I've had about 3 in the last couple of years none of which I can stick with.  I've never been very good at holding my own feet to the fire-so will you help me?


I love education, and devote too much time to being the best educator I can be.  Dean Shareski wrote for the Huffington Post that he believes that blogging is crucial to creating practicing reflectors.  Even our new teacher evaluation system states that we must "actively participate through the use of self assessment, reflection, presentation of artifacts, and classroom demonstration(s)."  What better way to do this than put it on the web, have others look at it and help you reflect?  It's like Twitter but with way more than 140 characters.  Want to read Dean's blog? He has http://ideasorthoughts.org where he keeps his...ideas or thoughts...clever. 


What kind of great things have people gained from blogging?  George Couros documents how he got teacher's blogging.  How it has helped him reflect and inspire his teachers, and inspire him.  Just from hearing one idea for the classroom I get a little thrill...imagine what could happen when we have a little time to read what our coworkers are doing on Saturday morning and we get inspired too. 


I know, I know, I know...time.  It's of the essence.  We don't have enough of it, we can't take more of it and what we have left is precious.  However as Thoreau said

“I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately, I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, To put to rout all that was not life and not when I had come to die Discover that I had not lived.”

Replace live(d) with teach/taught, or inspire(d).  I want to go to school every day knowing that I have inspired, or taught someone something.  I want to do all I can to make sure that I have lived up to everything I set out to be.

The constant cynic in me will now counterpoint my Thoreau with Thoreau “How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.” If you do not feel like you have a blog worthy atmosphere, don't do it.  However from all the great things I've seen, and conversations I've heard in my short time in this position, I would like to think that we have all "lived" in our classrooms and collaboration should make us sit down and write. 

Blogs to follow to inspire you:
Dan Meyer-math guy, but all around educator
Meredith Stewart-SS MS and HS teacher, also taught ELA (LOCAL!)
Mrs. Chili-ELA Hilariousness.  Only teacher I don't know through Twitter but her blog is funny
Dean Shareski-Reckless Learner by trade
Sophie Germain-2nd year teacher who is all around hilarious
Sam Shah-not for the weak math hearted, but great use of tech integration and love of...life!
Jason Buell-note the name of the blog...discusses mostly standards based grading