Perceptions abound when you come out as a blogger. Particularly if you happen to blog about education like I do. Some people embrace what you do and find it fascinating, while others shy away from you afraid that they somehow will end up in your blog. Others just condemn, perhaps not to your face, but in conversations or comments, either way, perceptions about blogging and the people who do it are plenty.
Today, Lyn Hilt wrote an amazing piece regarding why she blogs as a principal. If you haven't read it you should, in fact, it is much better than this piece. A comment in it though started my wheels spinning, Dwight Carter wrote, "Excellent post and a wonderful defense of blogging as a reflective practice." That statement really struck me, "defense" indeed, how often do we defend the act of blogging itself, as if you are not supposed to reflect, or at the very least not in public? This perception then of bloggers taking something private, the inner-workings of a classroom, and publicizing it can therefore not always be understood by others who do not blog. In fact, often, it is viewed as a sheer act of self promotion. And yet, I find that hard to believe being a blogger myself. I don't do it to promote what I do, in fact, if I had taken my mother's advice I would have still made the changes in my classroom but kept my mouth shut about it. Instead I chose to reflect openly and honestly abut my decision, my journey, my mistakes and my successes. Put it all out there for others to judge, to inquire, and perhaps to inspire.
So I think it is time we stop tearing down others for decisions that they make that perhaps we do not understand. I think it is time we view blogging as another way to reflect upon educational practices and not see it as a tool to get attention, or even a tool used for condemnation. The bloggers I follow don't set out to divide educators but rather start a conversation about what is happening in classrooms across the world. Why this is not only viewed as an asset is hard to fathom.
So I guess I am done defending my blogging, instead I want to celebrate all that it has provided me with in the last year. And I am also done negatively viewing those that don't blog. I know many exceptional teachers that reflect in other ways than blogging, who would never think to put their thoughts into cyberspace. This does not make them bad teachers, perhaps just more private. I also know some teachers who blog whose teaching style scares me a little, yet I applaud their effort in bringing it all out there.
So once again, we can be the change we want to see: Blogging shouldn't be the thing that divides educators, it should be viewed as yet another way educators work and reflect. What makes one person stronger will in the end strengthen us all. Isn't that what we want; a strong group of educators?
Today, Lyn Hilt wrote an amazing piece regarding why she blogs as a principal. If you haven't read it you should, in fact, it is much better than this piece. A comment in it though started my wheels spinning, Dwight Carter wrote, "Excellent post and a wonderful defense of blogging as a reflective practice." That statement really struck me, "defense" indeed, how often do we defend the act of blogging itself, as if you are not supposed to reflect, or at the very least not in public? This perception then of bloggers taking something private, the inner-workings of a classroom, and publicizing it can therefore not always be understood by others who do not blog. In fact, often, it is viewed as a sheer act of self promotion. And yet, I find that hard to believe being a blogger myself. I don't do it to promote what I do, in fact, if I had taken my mother's advice I would have still made the changes in my classroom but kept my mouth shut about it. Instead I chose to reflect openly and honestly abut my decision, my journey, my mistakes and my successes. Put it all out there for others to judge, to inquire, and perhaps to inspire.
So I think it is time we stop tearing down others for decisions that they make that perhaps we do not understand. I think it is time we view blogging as another way to reflect upon educational practices and not see it as a tool to get attention, or even a tool used for condemnation. The bloggers I follow don't set out to divide educators but rather start a conversation about what is happening in classrooms across the world. Why this is not only viewed as an asset is hard to fathom.
So I guess I am done defending my blogging, instead I want to celebrate all that it has provided me with in the last year. And I am also done negatively viewing those that don't blog. I know many exceptional teachers that reflect in other ways than blogging, who would never think to put their thoughts into cyberspace. This does not make them bad teachers, perhaps just more private. I also know some teachers who blog whose teaching style scares me a little, yet I applaud their effort in bringing it all out there.
So once again, we can be the change we want to see: Blogging shouldn't be the thing that divides educators, it should be viewed as yet another way educators work and reflect. What makes one person stronger will in the end strengthen us all. Isn't that what we want; a strong group of educators?
