A confession: Up to this point, I’ve been posting articles rather aimlessly. I have just been trying to learn the technology…getting my feet wet by writing a few posts now and then. I look back and see that the articles were written in the spur of the moment. This has occurred when I come across something extraordinary during my binges of web surfing. The inspirational impulse must reach a certain critical threshold before I take the time to actually write a blog post for I’d rather surf to explore new territories in the vast ocean of the web. The process of exploration accompanied by a few blog entries is fun and personally satisfying, but I am aware that it will lead to a body of fragmented and unfocused blog posts.
As a result of this, I have attempted to give the blog some shape by classifying and tagging my posts. I have also been looking through my interests for a unifying passion. My hope was that by finding it, I would be able to generate enough discipline to stay focused.
Now I know myself well enough to state unequivocally that my interests are stubbornly broad. They span a large range of educational, scientific and global topics. It is a reasonable expectation that these fields will change substantially as educational reform, scientific progress and global change accelerates. That understanding put me in a bit of a quandary trying to come up with an theme that could be sustained over time.
I had begun to realize that I need to define my audience. I asked myself, “Who am I writing for and why am I writing.” It sounds all so simple and obvious doesn’t it? Yet for me, the simple and obvious was obscured by the flood of ideas on the Internet and the pleasure of responding in the moment.
The epiphany came after I was invited to talk to a group of lateral entry teacher-candidates. That invitation stirred my mind into a frenzy of questions and ideas.
- What do I hope to leave behind for future generations?
- What would I tell these young teachers about my love of teaching?… in the context of the realities posed by working in a public school?
- How does one find what is essential to the heart and soul of a teacher’s practice? …and how are they preserved in a highly-regulated, regimented and scrutinized environment?
Ahhhh…it is within these questions focused for that particular audience that lies a fountain of ideas for a lifetime of blogging.
And so it is, let the blogging begin!
