The First Blog

I’ve been a reader of blogs for years. I appreciate the glimpse into other’s lives, the inspiration, the articulation of things I had been thinking and feeling but often unable to articulate or admit to myself. I read blogs to be a better runner, parent, and teacher. To slow down and make sense of life as it often moves too quickly around me. I have often felt that taking the time to reflect and write on my own would most definitely add to this, but have been hesitant to do so.

Now, as I take the leap to start this blog I have to think about the purpose and direction it will take. I know that I do not want it to be a venting space. I do not want to complain without being constructive in considering ways to move forward from a problem. I do want to add to the conversation around teaching practices, issues affecting schools, and school culture.  I do want it to be a reflective space to gather my thoughts about teaching as well as other aspects of my life, such as the balance between teaching and home.

I questions starting a blog at a time when I worry that blogs are becoming outdated. Although, I question this as well because my above purposes don’t rely on being current or reaching the masses. I have used blogs in the classroom before. Fifteen years ago in my first year of teaching, students used blogs during book groups. It was great, the comments and reflections went a long way in enhancing discussion. So, I kept going. But as blogs became more common the excitement for them seemed to wane. I think teachers long for connectivity and excitement in the classroom and that often means moving from blogs, to Google Docs, to Twitter, to Flipgrid, to whatever is garnering excitement at the time. Many of the blogs I read ten years ago have become placeholders for instagram accounts and stories or YouTube vlogs.  

Seeing these shifts has led me to question starting a blog. But the pull to write and share counters those doubts. So, with the added push of taking a course, I am putting these doubts aside. In the end, it’s really about creating a space and motivation to write more.