Freedom to Write and Share

I love blogging and when I started 16 years ago, I had a purpose. Recently I decided to take a step back and not blog on a scheduled basis. I realize now that I still love blogging, writing, and sharing, but my purpose has changed.

I want to share what I’m thinking or doing that others might find interesting. Sometimes I write about our travels so that in the future I can refer back to what we have done and where we went. I’m starting to write down the prices that we spend so that in the future, I will see what changes have occurred. I like to write about things that I’m doing just to keep the memory alive.

One of the things that inspired me was reading other people’s blogs. The two blogs that I have found extremely fascinating are Bedlam Farm Journal by Jon Katz and Full Moon Fiber Art by Maria Wulf.

In June I read The Story of Rose: A Man and His Dog by Jon Katz. When I find a book I like, I’m usually curious about the author so I did some research. Then I found Jon Katz’s blog and I’m fascinated with his photography and his stories. From there, I was connected to his wife’s blog and since I’m a knitter and a spinner, I was intrigued by her blog. I don’t have to agree with everything they say but I love seeing life from their point of view. I feel as if they are my friends (even though they have no clue who I am) and that they are my neighbors (even though I don’t live anywhere near them).

I look forward to their posts and how interesting they are. That is when I realized I wanted the same freedom. It was time to move away from my “Monday through Friday” educational posts. I wanted to write for the enjoyment of writing. I wanted to share things that interested me and even add my own photos that I like.

I was going to write them a note about this but decided I would put it in a blog post because I tend to be too wordy. I feel like I “know” them since they have become a part of my daily life. I added their blog to Feedly.com so I don’t miss any updates to their blogs and I look forward to their new posts.

Thank you Jon and Maria for helping me feel free to write for the joy of writing and sharing!

Photo by Fuu J on Unsplash

Sharing Successful Activities with Colleagues

In Open the cookies in Seth Godin's Blogby Seth Godin shares,

 “We are happy to take a tiny slice off the thing that’s being shared, but we hesitate to open the bag.”

I know when I go to a potluck meal, I don’t want to be the first one to open something or take the first spoonful. I also don’t want to take the last piece or spoonful.

I tend to see teachers falling in this same trap. I believe teachers want to know what other teachers are doing to motivate their classes but are afraid to ask. Sharing activities could go a long way to go in keeping class lessons motivating and interesting.

If you are the first one to ask, others might see you as weak or needy. Administrators may see you as less competent as your peers. Students may think you don’t know what you are doing and lose confidence in you. By worrying too much about how others may perceive you, you withdraw from a wealth of knowledge and information that could be very valuable to your teaching.

I think administrators should find a way to encourage teachers to share the good things that they are doing.

One possible way would be to share one good thing you are doing at a faculty meeting in small groups. Teachers should count off by a certain number so that you can end up with groups of 4 – 5 people in each group (usually clusters of friends sit together at faculty meetings so this would be a great way to help them branch out and learn from someone outside their circle). Then ask them to take 10 minutes to share in their group one activity or lesson they did that week that was successful, and most of the students enjoyed it. Ask each person to enter the info they shared in a central Google document by the next day. This document can be available with the faculty to use as a resource.

At first, I’m sure administrators will get some push back from this but it should only take 15 minutes of the teachers time to do this (10 minutes of sharing and 5 minutes to enter it in a form). I hate for teachers to be treated like children but I’m sure that if they are not held accountable, many will not fill out the form. Teachers who don’t fill out the form should have to share their activity in front of the whole faculty at the next faculty meeting. I think this would encourage many to fill out the form as required.

I know that I can learn a lot from my colleagues. By looking at the different activities in different subject areas, I might find one that I would like to do with my class. I could even seek the teacher out for more information as well as suggestions for adapting it to my student’s needs.

How do you share with your colleagues? Please share! 

Photo by Manu Camargo on Unsplash

Sharing Ideas

In The magnetic generosity of the network effect from Seth Godin's Blog , Seth Godin shares,

“An idea shared is more powerful than one that’s hidden. A technology standard outperforms a proprietary one. A community is stronger than divided individuals ever could be.”

Teaching should not be an isolated activity.

We need to share ideas that work with each other. It takes time to share but it is well worth the time and the effort.

Some of my best ideas have been formed while waiting in line for the copy machine. One teacher talks about a great lesson that she taught. While listening to the activity, I start thinking about ways this lesson could work in my class. I start talking about how I modify it for my students and usually, someone else will jump in and give other suggestions that I hadn’t thought about.

This is such a motivating and inspiration time even though at first, I was annoyed that I had to wait in line because I hate copying papers anyway.

Sometimes you have to look for the rainbow in the clouds. Look for opportunities to share ideas with others and let them share ideas with you. If no one is talking about their best lesson that they have taught lately, ask them.

Ask others what their biggest struggle was and then share yours. Maybe everyone can exchange ideas so that everyone can benefit.

Even students like to share their ideas so you can ask them what their favorite activity has been so far and what was their least favorite.

There are so many ways that teachers and students can share ideas. Sometimes you only need to ask the question to get the ball rolling.

Photo by G. Crescoli on Unsplash

Sharing Too Much

In How Much to Corral? From Sioux's Page, Sioux asks,

“How do you decide what to keep to yourself and what to keep on paper?”

I tend to share way too much according to my husband! I like to share what we are doing or where we are traveling to with others. Some people share the same interest or have been to where we are going and can suggest interesting things to see and do there.

I do not share information like phone numbers and addresses online with people unless it is in a private message. I think sharing stuff like that is just plain creepy unless you are making arrangements to meet someone.

I also don’t share stories about people that I wouldn’t say to their face. I feel like nothing is private once it is shared so I want to know if it gets back to the person, they won’t feel uncomfortable about my sharing the story. I usually let that person know I was talking about them too.

In our house, we have this saying that if we have nothing nice to say, don’t say it at all. I usually follow this unless it is a rant about a company that I think is worth sharing with others. I would want to know this information as a fellow consumer and if someone has problems with a company that I might use or buy from, I want to know about it.

My husband worries about my sharing about our travels so he hopes that I wait at least until we return before telling people about where we went. I usually do that unless I post a picture without any indication about where we are. Then if someone asks me about it, I will send them a private message.

What do you share with others online or in private? Please share.