Back in the Saddle

When I began to write a dissertation about blogging, I could no longer face a blog. I just couldn't even go to the site. It was like I had to completely break myself away and focus completely on the task at hand--writing about blogs. I'll post another time about what I found, but right now I just want to focus on getting back in the saddle in terms of blogging myself.

I have a methods class for pre-service middle and high school teachers, and we have a blog.
We meet once a week, and it has replaced weekly handwritten responses which would only be returned with teacher feedback alone every two weeks or so.

An eighth grade class at a lab school invited us to visit their blog and respond to their stories, so my class is doing that right now as well. We also commented on Casey's students Senior Projects. They are researching, writing papers, and presenting to the community about a topic they have chosen. They work over a year on it.

If anyone should ever happen on to this blog, I want to point out my new fascination with Library Thing. I have a spot on my blog for it, and it's merely a way to catalog what you are reading. Here is my bookshelf. Please share yours. My friend from north Missouri shared her bookshelf with me. I don't see her much, but every time I do, I pick her brain about what she's reading. Now, I have her "bookshelf" online all of the time.

The weather is cold and nasty here, and I went to YouTube to look for a segment when Seinfeld is on Saturday Night Live. He's a history teacher leading a class discussion. It's a great segment to use with teachers to begin a discussion about discussions. While I was on YouTube, I decided to search for Taylor Mali's poetry slam on "What Teachers Make." I found those two items, and couldn't stop. He has a great poem (slightly dirty) called "The Impotence of Proofreading."

Something happened yesterday that I have to share. A good teacher friend and NWP Teacher-Consultant uses a blog, podcasts, and film in his Applied Communications class. On the blog, an anonymous person from his school district posted that the kids writing was terrible, and there was no way that blogging or podcasting could have any benefit. The major slam came when the person wrote, "I think elementary students could write better than you." All of the students responded, and one of the saddest things to me is that the students said, "Yeah, we're not very good writers, but we are a lot better than we were." This is sad to me because the only thing her comment did was make them say, "Yeah, we're not good." Now, on a positive note, those kids wrote some incredible responses to her comments. They can write well, and they just don't have confidence. They are learning. How could she put down those high juniors and seniors? Well, for what it is worth, I responded.

Well, this is a start. I won't wait another year to write.