Thing #3

There are many ways that using a blog would be helpful to teachers. The first would be to post activities or units studied in class. You could talk about what went well or not so well and ask for help or ideas. I took a poetry writing class years ago and I always loved critique day. People would give you ideas for free. You could take the good ones and toss the not so good ones. I loved it. Often people would propose an idea that I wouldn't take, but would lead me to other ideas. They would be the catalyst to something else. This requires a good and insightful following. Which, I think, would take time to build up.

I know many teachers who use blogs to post to their students. This could be an excellent way to communicate outside of class and facilitate discussion. Students could discuss assignments, help one another, or find extra resources.  It can also keep parents informed about what is going on in the classroom. I know some parents feel in the dark sometimes about what is actually being taught. They also feel unsure about how to support their kids in their studies. This could be a good way to offer the extra information for the parents who are looking for that. This requires that parents have computers, internet access, and know how to get to the blog easily. These things can be obstacles.

I like the idea of each student keeping their own blog. A teacher could assign a blog as a journal while reading a particular book or story. Students could read each other's views/ interpretations of a story. This could all be done through the classroom and students wouldn't necessarily be required to have to a computer at home.

Thing #2

This is not the first blog I have had. I had one a few years ago. It wasn't a good fit. I really - in the end - didn't know what to do with it. I could not find my voice there and eventually deleted it. Then Facebook came a long and I found that this was really what I was looking for. I just wanted a place to keep up with my friends that are all around the country, post pictures of my kids and see theirs, and make a few (I hope) quippy comments about my life as a mom. I found the making of this blog easy as far as the actual creating. I found it hard because it reminded me of my last failed attempt at this. I feel self-conscience and nervous about it.

These feelings lead me to only put my last name in the blog. I originally wanted to name it Catherine's Spectra Specs - my url still contains that name. Spectra Specs are the weird colored glasses that Luna Lovegood wears in Harry Potter. I thought that might not be right for class. I like the name in my url. It helps me to feel a little hidden. If this go at a blog works out I think I will change the name back to that. I like it.

My avatar is wearing jeans and tee shirt - which is my usual uniform. I think if I could have made her hair a little messier it would represent me a little better. It seems no matter what length I make my hair it is always a little messy. I had hoped by the time I turned 35 I would have had it under control - that has come and gone and there is still no control. I have given that goal up - along with my goal to some day be cool.

Thing #1 Life Long Learning

I like to think of myself as a life long learner. I enjoy learning new skills, I love a good challenge, and I always want to try new things. I had a job for many years where I worked on dinosaur type computers. It was a small non-profit agency and they had little money. We needed ferrari type computers to do our jobs, but we had were minis. It was so much fun to pull those computers apart, rebuild them, put in new parts, and fix major melt downs. I really enjoyed the challenge, and the constant figuring of puzzles. I was never afraid to break the computer, and I was always confident that we could work something out. There are many instances in my life where I have felt when facing a challenge or learning something new I could not fail. This is, of course, not always true. But I am always happy that feeling of invincibility returns.

There are places and times, though, when this is not true about me. And most of the time this happens in groups. I am not good in a group of adults. My shyness creeps in. I feel self-conscience and worry about every word that exists my mouth. I find it almost impossible to find that feeling of invincibility. Elizabeth Bennett in Pride and Prejudice says, "with every attempt to intimidate me, my courage always rises." I say this quote in my head some times - I wish I could be like her. Witty, charismatic, charming, and have the ability to stumble in public, shake it off and keep moving forward. I don't have these same failings around kids - I feel comfortable around them. Nerdy and dorky, or what ever I am - I don't mind being that person in front of kids.

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by the amount of information technology offers. It sometimes feel like there is too much news or too many choices. It can be nice to have so much right at my finger tips, but often I want a little quiet from it all. Especially the news - I feel overwhelmed by all the sad, tragic, horror stories from every small town around the world. The piece of technology I have the most trouble with is the phones - I don't want to be that accessible all the time.

So I guess when I look at the 7.5 habits I find that when I work solo or with kids I find the habits come easier. I don't mean that everything I do works out perfectly - that certainly doesn't happen. But I pop back easier, quicker, and see each mistake as an opportunity. This is not necessarily true when it comes to being in groups of adults. I usually would rather melt in to the wall.