Teachers Should Blog - Seriously, I Mean You

According to google, this is my 100th blog post.  I decided that it should be about how great blogging is for teachers and really recommend that you have one too.

1.  Yes, you do have something to say.  
When social media first started, there was a definite generational divide.  I would hear older people say, "Why should anyone care what I am doing right now?"  I would hear students talk about how great it was that they could say anything they wanted to anyone.  I was in between these two age groups (at the time - I'm middle aged now, but I was only 30 when I first joined facebook).  I really saw social media as a great way to keep up with old friends that I didn't see anymore, but I certainly didn't want to post every time I ate a cookie.  As the social media thing has exploded over the past decade, we have come to discover that it CAN be a platform for those who have something to say.  As a teacher, you have something to say.  Forget about posting pictures of every cup of coffee you drink, and think about what you wish you could tell your students, your parents, your fellow teachers.  You have important thoughts about this misunderstood profession.  You might be a new teacher.  Sharing your struggles appropriately can be a comfort to those who know they aren't alone.  It can give parents and students perspective on how difficult that first year is, and maybe they will cut you some slack.  Maybe you have been teaching for many years.  You have acquired the wisdom that comes from experience.  Sharing that can be helpful for younger teachers or provide an idea for someone who needs one.  You really do have something to say; I promise.

2.  Education is misunderstood.  You can help.
I know I am biased, but I don't think there is a profession that is more misunderstood than teaching.  We all think that because we were in school and had teachers, we know how to teach.  I have heard students say, "How hard could it be to get papers back the next day?" about a first-year teacher they had.  My response to them was, "You guys have no idea what you are talking about."  People think of teaching as the 8-3 job with summers off.  You and I know that you do not work from 8-3.  I get to work at 6am and leave at an average of 5pm.  That's if there isn't a game or a play or a performance.  Then, it could be as late as 9pm.  This isn't a complaint because I love it.  It is perspective for those who think a teacher's day is done at 3.  Yes, we do have summers off, and we are grateful for it.  It takes that time to recover from the previous year, develop professionally in ways the school year doesn't allow, and get ready for the following year.  Most people don't understand that because we don't' talk about it much.  We don't want to be viewed as whining or complaining.  For most of us, it isn't.  We just want people to understand it.  Blogging weekly gives some insight to others into this profession.  Seeing that you were grading papers at 9pm so that you could get them back to students might make the students recognize that you indeed have homework too.

3.  It's reflective
This is the reason I have my students blog.  The world is moving so fast that we rarely take the time to think and reflect on what things mean.  We are so busy taking in new information that we rarely take the time to process the impact of that information.  My student's blogs are 5-10 sentence, but that requires enough reflection each week that they might make it a practice in their lives.  As a teacher, my blog posts are a lot longer, but the chance to reflect on new practices, technology, traditions, or student activities is just as valuable for me.  Even if no one read this blog, I would still want to write it.  It is good for me to process things.

4.  It's not just something else to do.  It's cathartic.
When I first thought of blogging, I wasn't sure I wanted to.  It seemed like it might just be another assignment for the week.  Fortunately, it hasn't turned out that way.  While I do have to take some time to think and write, I find that it frees my mind when I am done.  I have gotten the thoughts that were swirling around unformed in my head into the computer.  That frees me from thinking about them further and lets my brain focus on the rest of the to-do list.  Forming the thoughts into coherent sentences gets my brain ready for work.  While you can't just rant about whatever is bothering you and keep a job, you can process issues constructively by blogging.  It gives you perspective while you think through the issues.  As I already said, I would keep writing this even if you didn't keep reading it.

Thank you
All that said, thanks for reading these last 100 posts.  I hope it has done something for you.  If you are a fellow teacher, I hope it has given you some ideas or let you know you aren't alone.  If you are a parent of students, I hope it helps you to understand that your child's teachers really are doing the best they can.  If you are a student, I hope it helps you realize that you are taught by thoughtful professionals who care deeply about you and your success, who have a plan and a reason for that plan, who put every waking moment of 10 months into being the best they can be.