This post is a product of the 30 Days of Blogging Challenge and post 1 in a series of posts for EduBlogs Club.

I am participating in a couple of Blogging Challenges to stay engaged on my blog and to mix up the content. I would love for you to join me in either or both:

Blog Challenges January 2017

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@GCouros tweeted about AJ Juliani’s 30 Days of Blogging Challenge and on a post from that challenge I stumbled upon the EduBlogs Club challenge. So I write this post really for two challenges in one.

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The 30 Days of Blogging Challenge is about writing everyday for 30 days, not necessarily publishing everyday for 30 days. The #EduBlogsClub challenge is a weekly post. So I predict enough prompting, but not at an overwhelming level. Let me know if you join either challenge below in the comments. Both challenges have pages where you can post the link to either your blog or a particular post. Challenges likes these help me make connections with similar or complementary educators. I like to find blogs and add then categorize them in my Feedly so that I can read them later or by category. {If you are into that sort of thing: The Influential, The Followed, and my RSS Feed}

I’ve Been Around

I have degrees from colleges in Florida, Michigan, and Georgia. My teaching history spans three states and four counties. I taught 4th-7th grade, all subjects in elementary and specialized in Math and Science in middle grades. I have always loved reading and technology. And here I am – it feels like I have been all over the educational map! I have found a place to be a teacher and a learner, so many different times in so many different places – how lucky. The truth is that those seemingly different places were actually more similar than different. It was always a challenge to adjust to change, but kids are kids, so education is usually very similar place to place.

But I am New Too

Frequent changes and starts and stops in a career do provide me with a great perspective. While I find myself in my 18th year of teaching I have only taught in Georgia for 11 years; that’s a new teacher.

My current job allows me to visit different schools in my district as well. The differences in each school which leaders, cultures, and/or people make in such a small geographic area is amazing. I am new to this type of observation, only 9 years in this role. For roughly two years I am also newly aware of the importance and art of leadership. Such a newbie.

I Educate

…Myself

A day in the life of any educator is hectic. But if the only time you get to “think deeply” on something is when you reply to an email, survive a faculty meeting, or write-up your lesson plans … maybe you’re not thinking deeply after all.
And I found that I was asked so many questions so quickly AND I never was able to revisit them that I had to do something different. That is why I blog. It is for me as a learner to file away a thought, question, or idea as a blog post draft. Then when I have time to dedicate, or when I am bursting with thoughts, I revisit that draft idea and really sort it out for myself; this is how my blog posts are born. 

As for blogging, I do finish drafts out of order, and I had to give myself permission to do that. I have between 10-20 ideas ready for final development right now and another 50 which are just titles and a few points. Those sketchy ones may or may not make it to a blog post, multiple ideas may be combined/repurposed, and a few I delete because the idea was too fleeting or my note taking too vague.

Blogging also fits neatly into my passion for trying self-starter professional learning, such as MOOCs, edcamps, and professional learning through blogging. Sometimes DIY professional learning is an isolated pursuit and writing it out and sharing my thoughts on my professional growth help me internalize my new thoughts.

…Other Learners

Before I taught other professionals I taught traditional-aged students. I used to think they were the only “learners.” But now I know that being a learner is not age-dependent. You can be 5 or 50 and decide you do (or do not) want to learn. Granted, the 5-year-old would have to comply with some school norms, it would be more difficult for the 5-year-old not to learn. But a 50-year-old can do the same thing, comply, but never learn. Age does not make one a learner. {If you’re into this sort of thinking you might like this post:Why You Haven’t Resigned from Teaching}

So I seek others who are open about how their understanding of education is ever-evolving.

…But Never the Unwilling … 

That is one of the appeals of a blog to me. Please opt in, please let’s identify each other as members of the same tribe, but there is no compelled participation.

And who I am to think that because an educator isn’t into the same thing I am into that they are not learning? I used to think it was a down-grade not to have students accountable to me. Now I know that learners who elect to be accountability partners with me are truly engaged – and that we can count on learning from each other.

 

I am glad to meet you!