Dena’s Blog

I think blog writing in general is very liberating, at least for me personally. It doesn’t HAVE to be academic — but it often is. It doesn’t even HAVE to be meaningful — but it usually is. In my personal blog writing, I have found that I can flit from topic to topic and be as serious — or not — as I want to be. In my educational blogging (such as this one….who am I kidding, this is my ONLY educational one), I feel more obligated to produce “smart” writing.

One thing that blogging has in common with other types of writing is that I find I write differently when I know people are going to read it. If it were just for me, I might not care. As for blog READING, I feel obligated to read everything that someone writes. That is so overwhelming! I try to pick and choose, but sometimes I get bogged down with the sheer enormity of how much information is out there. What if I skip something that is really profound? Arrrrrgggghhhh!!

I appreciate the comments left on my blog by other people, but in this situation I feel like people are just commenting because they’re supposed to! I think blogging can facilitate learning, particularly among the high school students I have used blogging with as an assignment. They write better when they think their peers will be reading what they write. One student made a mistake on his blog (he said he was born “immature” instead of “premature”), and when his classmates ragged him about it, he went back to his blog and edited it. I’ve been trying to get them to edit their writing for years!

I was fascinated by the blog about not assigning homework but dismayed at how much time this teacher spends just getting ready for each class. I love my job, but I’m not going to sacrifice what little family time I have to spend 2 hours preparing for every hour I spend in the classroom. That’s just crazy!

The blog about a rationale for educational blogging is right on the money. The worldwide audience and global nature of blogging give students a purpose for their writing, and isn’t that all they’ve ever asked for?

The blogs written by students are probably my favorite, especially the younger students. Teaching them writing skills early makes it more likely that it will become a lifelong habit.

And speaking of a habit, since I started my personal blog, I have felt obligated, compelled even, to write every single day. That wasn’t true of my sporadic attempts at journal writing. I don’t put restraints on myself like I have to do something serious or uplifting or even sensible every day, but I have to write. And I have refrained from making my blog a “this-is-what-I-did-today” writing activity, because I know no one cares. In two years, I probably won’t even care myself.