Thursday, November 14, 2013

Why I Blog


Chiming in a little late, but I wanted to share my journey into blogging . . .

I still remember the day when I discovered math teacher blogs. I had been teaching for maybe eight years and I was in a rut. I had gotten to the point where I pulled out the folder of unit whatever from last year and wash, rinse, repeat. I was doing an adequate job, but I was bored.

On THE day I was sitting at my computer and I wondered if there were any math teachers out there blogging about teaching math. I started to search. I found Kate’s blog and Sam’s and a few others. Their blogrolls lead me to others. I started reading and I could not get enough. I tried log war and row games and other stuff. I got creative inspiration and I started to enjoy teaching again. My learning of new things was no longer limited to a rare conference here or there or from conversations with my two colleagues.

I started to recognize that I was a pretty mediocre teacher, and I stopped being content with mediocrity.

It was less than a year later that I started a blog of my own. Initially, I felt that I had gained so much from others that I wanted to contribute something to the community. It didn’t take me long to realize that what I had to share was just a drop in the pool of resources out there, but some people seemed to find what I had shared to be helpful and that felt great. I also wrote about what was on my mind and I was able to solidify many of my thoughts about teaching and learning through thinking them out in writing.

The real hook for me came when I started receiving feedback from others who were reading. I found that even when I posted something that I thought was super amazing, someone would give me an idea to make it even better. I asked questions when I wasn’t sure where to go with a topic, and I got answers. I am so very thankful to those commenters who have made me a better teacher.

I have subscribed to Sam’s philosophy about blogging – it shouldn’t be a chore. But while I refuse to let blogging be stressful, it has provided me with some motivation to produce share-worthy moments in my classroom.

I still mess things up all the time. I still spend too much time talking at the front of the room. I still have so much to learn . . . but there is no question that I am a better teacher than the blog-less version of myself.

And I’m definitely having more fun.

3 comments:

  1. I love your story, Amy! Thanks for sharing.

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  2. So many wonderful ideas here. I think we all realize that we don't want to settle for "wash, rinse, repeat" in cycles throughout our teaching career. Thanks for sharing that you were reading and commenting on blogs for about a year before you really started blogging on your own. I am just getting started in the MTBoS world and I love reading and commenting, but my own blog is only my introduction post.
    I will try to take your advice and not stress about blogging. It may actually free me up from myself and let me actually share more - we'll see.
    Thanks again!!

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    1. Welcome to the MTBoS, Diana! Please don't stress . . . just enjoy and experience this community in the way that works best for you. :)

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