Audience

During this school year, I had kids writing a lot. One of the pieces of writing that my kids had to do on a near weekly basis was summarizing a news article for current events. A key mistake that my kids made was assuming their audience (whole group, or myself) had read the article. For example, when the BP Oil Spill started we had quite a few articles summarized for current events. My kids might lead off with: "An oil spill happened and it is hurting wildlife in the water." I'd often reply, "Where was this? Was it in Elliot Bay? Did this happen last night?" My tone would often be one of surprise, showing how the missed information was a big deal (I might run out the door and be more responsive if it was so close).

You need to know your audience, and can't always assume they'll fill in the gaps. You need to know who is reading, what they likely know, and how to draw them in on your writing. Where is this going? A Philadelphia high school private school teacher was fired because of her blogging back in April. I had heard little about it until seeing a post come through my Google Reader. The student's parents claimed that the teacher had effectively bullied a student through posting about a presentation's political views, and lack of tone (per the assignment). I spent a good 30 minutes trying to find the original post, as well as reading some of her other stuff.

Without seeing the original post, it is difficult to make a complete judgement. But there are a few things that came to mind when reading about this situation. First, you need to know who is reading your blog. If you were asked to blog by your school, you know that they will likely be reading it. Being that it is a private school (and high school), it is likely that a student or parent is reading your work too. Even veiled comments about students can be trouble. Negative comments can easily be taken down a path you don't want to go (and which she found out). Second, kids' work is often a reflection of your practice. If you want them to do something different, then you need to provide instruction that moves them in that direction. If you really were upset about a student missing the lesson on "conciliatory tone," then it would be helpful to write about ways to fix it (or how you'll teach them to get there). Similarly, I can't simply be upset students are forgetting to include integral pieces of information. Instead I need to think about my plan to get them to include that information, and improve their work. The issue becomes my own issue, and not the student's.

Lastly, don't forget that the blogosphere isn't an isolated place. What you write creates a digital fingerprint, a paper trail, of you. You're intent needs to be clear, otherwise you run the risk of your words being misconstrued. Whether you like it or not, the digital you (your postings) are a representation of you (from blogs to twitter to facebook etc). Whether I like the author or agree with her isn't the point (don't know her, and haven't read enough written by her). But I do know that I'll re-read my work to be sure it is clear, and can't be confused as disparaging a student.

Mountain Climbing

I found this slide over at Dangerously Irrelevant. It reminded me of a quote from a running book I am re-reading. In the book (Run Faster) Brad Hudson talks about goal setting, and how runners need to set high goals. Those goals need to be high enough to challenge you and keep you interested, but not so high that you'll never reach them (and constantly feel like you're failing).

I think of that in my practice as well. There are many teachers who I read about that inspire me on a daily basis. Reading the Tempered Radical, Learning is Messy, Two Writing Teachers, or the Reading Zone (or any of those in my blogroll), I realize how much room I have to grow. I want to be like some of the teachers in my building that have taught for a few years, and are doing wonderful things with their kids. But I need to worry about being the best first year teacher I can be, and move on from there.

The more you write, the more it grows

I thoroughly enjoy teaching writing. I don't consider myself to be much of a writer, but I do enjoy putting my own thoughts down, and I try my best to pass that enthusiasm along. Last year I felt like my teaching was fairly successful for the first and second graders I had. I certainly had some that I hoped to push further, but I felt like most of the kids got excited about Writer's Workshop.

Looking at my practice this year, I feel like I am coming back around. My first day or two of the workshop weren't what I had hoped for, but the kids persisted anyway. As I have started to model more clearly, and ask clearer questions for shoulder partner discussion, our writing sessions have gotten crisper. We've started the journey from "watermelon" stories, those stories that are "and then, and then, and then," to seed stories. Case in point was one who wrote about when she got her cat.

"The cat reached through the cage, almost as if to say 'Take me! I've been here for years.' "

Before the writing included some detail about the color of the cat, and her being excited to get the cat, but little about how that experience was. She was really focusing in, and getting to the essence of that moment, which was the purpose. Additionally the kids are able to identify if their own stories are watermelon or seeds, and working towards re-drafting (one of the stories we've written, not all).

Lastly, all my kids have technology skills of some sort. Each can use their personal login (to the network), each can type fairly proficiently, they can do most of the basic Word functions, etc. This gives me hope for my desire to start a class blog. I'd use the 10 computer/21 kids to do a weekly rotation. One set would blog and the other would comment, and continue to rotate. This would work for about a month before changing up groups and/or having them all responsible for a weekly/bi-weekly post and comment. I just need to find out what I need to do in order to get clearance/permission. Big plans are in store.

Damaged Goods

I have returned from my much needed break from blogging and all things education. While I was still reading postings in my google reader, I stopped writing and reading anything else. Like my wife, I professed to take a break until August 1st... and I'm back!

Since I don't have a grade level or school yet (but do have a contract), I've started by reading more background stuff. I'm finishing To Understand by Keene (co-author of Mosaic of Thought), which has been a good start. My wife is finishing Results Now, which is next on my list, and then there is a chapter from the Morning Meeting book that I am going to read. In my starred blog posts is one about classroom blogging, which I am excited to read a bit more thoroughly (as well as doing more classroom blog research- Learning is Messy etc).

Psyched to get rolling, and psyched to be back. I'll leave you with this comment from Pat Conroy (another google reader nugget):

I have yet to meet an English teacher who assigned a book to damage a kid. They take an unutterable joy in opening up the known world to their students, but they are dishonored and unpraised because of the scandalous paychecks they receive. In my travels around this country, I have discovered that America hates its teachers, and I could not tell you why.

Dishonored and "unpraised" (sic)... hmmm.

Post of the Week!

In between watching the Ok Go video and checking my Google Reader, I found a fantastic blog post at Learning is Messy. The blogger, Brian, blogs with his students and is going to start a "Post of the Week" for their class blog. Why is that important? Well I just see how integral the idea is to getting kids to think about their own writing. You might say, "well they are thinking about other people's writing not their own." Ah but there is where you get into metacognition. Once they start thinking critically about the writing of their peers, even if it is just what they liked and how it was layed out, they start to take away ideas that can be applied to their own writing. If you are just simply writing and not thinking about your audience, then why even publish? I can't wait to bring that into my future classroom!

Midwinter Break with Google Reader!

We're on Midwinter break this week! The wife and I are off through Tuesday, then she heads back to her 2nd/3rd grade kiddos and I head back to the university. January and February are awful as far as consistency, an underestimated part of learning in my eyes. Every other week has a day off because of a holiday, day between semesters, or teacher training day. This week is great for the student teacher, as it is a chance to focus on the classwork and get a little rest Monday and Tuesday.

For me, this week is a good chance to run some more (92 miles instead of the 75/wk I have averaged), and a chance to catch up on my Google reader. As I mentioned earlier in the week, the blog posts to be read ballooned to over 100. How about now? Well, I am down to 9... they are the ones that I need to really invest time to read (Bridging Differences, Will Richardson, etc).

What has Google Reader taught me?

• There are lots of people writing about writing instruction.
• Facebook has lots of users. It could be seen as a tipping point in ed-tech. I wonder if ed tech will change because of what the capabilities of a site like Facebook, and not facebook itself (the "see how useful this is" type of thing). Makes me think of globalization... it can be really good, but can also be really scary and/or misused.
• Alfie Kohn isn't universally liked. The line that stuck was "wet streets cause rain."
• Track records aren't just used in corporate America... imagine being a teacher, or superintendent evaluated based on how your kids did? Should they?
• Student teachers worry about standards. Me? Not so much. I want solid teaching that has a purpose, and is linked to standards, but I know you can't focus on the standards.
• We should be sure not to take the Internet as fact... kinda like how kids think everything in the newspaper is true.

Go and visit!

Do you have websites that you like to read, but don't read enough? Perhaps they are good resources, but they are dense. Perhaps they simply overwhelm you with good stuff, but you've got 1,000 other things you are reading/doing/trying. Yeah, that is me!

Two links that I love love love, but don't visit as often as I should are:

• Open Source Reading- this is a great place to connect with other teachers who are teaching students to read, and love reading (both them, and the students!). It has grown in the 2 months or so since I stumbled upon it. But the basic premise is to connect and help others in and around reading (with a focus on grades 3-8). If you are unfamiliar with the open source movement, do learn about it.
• Two Writing Teachers- I admit that I get their posts in my Google Reader, but am not a participant (yet) on their blog. Write with them, use the info on the page (great ideas abound), and connect with others.

Back to basics!

I am convinced of one thing: blogging can be an integral part of teacher development. Why is that? Well, for starters blogging (at least for teachers about education) forces teachers into the public sphere. Remaining behind closed doors, operating in the vacuum of our respective buildings, doesn't promote input into your practice or pedagogy. If we keep our doors closed, and our ideas locked inside, then we aren't able to benefit from feedback that could help us evolve. Why do we need to evolve our practice and pedagogy? Well, the world is constantly changing and we need to enable our learners to be a part of it in the ways that they will eventually see fit.

For me, as a teaching candidate, blogging is a way to reflect. It keeps me thinking about education, and provides an opportunity for my ideas to be scrutinized. You can't be afraid of the criticism; just take a deep breathe and let it in. I didn't realize how much I missed blogging until I wasn't doing it. Old blog posts on a collaborative blog can be found here.

Be well.