Friday, January 1, 2010

Happy New Year

Dilip (a sailor nearby in the region of Cape Horn) wrote “Midnight of New Years eve, just as I was getting out to change the wind vane with the wind dropping, the phone rang. Finding it a bit odd to receive a phone call close to midnight, picked up the phone and what a pleasant surprise! Jessica calling to wish New Years! So very thoughtful of her! Amongst all the new years wishes I have received in all these years and at various places, I think I will cherish this, from this gutsy girl 350 NM away and the nearest human to me, as the most special! With wishes like these how can 2010 not be anything but great!”
Nothing more to say really.

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*Never forget the greater picture of why I'm blogging. I will not write posts to gain followers, get attention with snarky comments, or harm either students of co-workers with my words. I blog to become a better teacher, hone my own insights, gain a better understanding of my teaching journey, connect with other educators who, in turn, can make me become a better teacher.


*Always write about a child in a way so that if their parent found the blog they would know I respected every aspect of their child's learning- although I may write weaknesses I must always show the child's true strengths & write to show how much I love and appreciate the child.


*Always write about my co-workers in a way that also reflects their strengths. I have amazing co-workers, which is truly a blessing. I value collaborating and believe that we are better teachers when we put our heads together. I never want to write anything that will in any way hurt our relationship, which in turn would hurt the students' learning. I don't want to use my blog to vent, in turn hurting the trust someone has put in me.


*I will work hard not to write anything that will prevent me from doing my job. I do not want anything I write to hurt my co-workers, students, or my school in any way. I have the best job in the world, and I would hate to end up having to leave teaching because I forgot the bigger picture in my blog.


*I try my best to stick to these, but I'm sure you can find posts I've written that don't follow these 4 rules. But I try. Sometimes I might think I'm following them and I don't, and later I can see where I made my mistake. Know I'm trying, and if you feel I haven't done one of these let me know.


So, here's what I see as our blogging rights-


*We have the right to reflect on our teaching journey on-line.
*We have the right to collaborate with educators from all over the world.
*We have a right to wonder what is best practice, debate education policies/practices/teaching styles, and question what is not working in an on-line forum.
*We have a right to use our blogs to process a difficult day, as long as we stay within the lines of the responsibilities listed above.


The combination of the Rights/Responsibilities allows us to:


*Communicate & collaborate with educators from all over the world
*Become more reflective in our teaching
*Improve our teaching practices to best benefit our students
*Find the silver linings inside the most frustrating of days & know that we are not alone
*Keep a sense of humor, which, in turn, allows us to be stronger teachers who come back to work day after day inspired, energized, and ready for a challenge