I'll admit it, I have blog envy. I've followed a lot of blogs. Mommy blogs. Teacher blogs. Exercise blogs. Cooking blogs. You name it. And I've thought, hey-I think I have something to say. I want to do that. Can I do that? So here it is… my shot at That.
I recently attended a workshop about bringing blogs into the classroom. As an English teacher, it’s sort of what we do. Except, I wasn’t. I always wanted to enter the blogosphere, but wasn’t sure I had anything much to add. And anyway, who would read it? But here's the thing: when it comes to setting expectations for and challenging my students, I have one rule. I can't ask them to do ANYTHING that I haven’t tried myself. Sometimes that means jumping in feet first with them on a new adventure. Oftentimes, it means leading them down a road I’ve been down. Enter the student blog. For their blogs to be meaningful, they have to be authentic. An interest blog where they explore what engages them outside of our classroom. So then must mine. Here's my attempt at going first. We talked, the kids and I, about what we want our blogs to be. Who is our audience? What is our focus? I still don't think I have those answers. Will this be about teaching the kids in the middle - the ones who enter as babies and leave as young adults? Will it be about life as a working mommy searching for balance? Or about being the daughter to parents who are getting older? I am at a place that can only be defined as The Middle. Middle child. Middle school teacher. Mid-career. Mid-life. Middle Class. I even live in Middletown, New Jersey. Being in the middle of it all is who I am. It's what defines me. Focus? Separating the layers of me? I can't do that. (In fact, I can barely focus on this post with my almost-four-year-old trying to explain why he filled a hole in the wall with all 20+ pieces from Connect4. Husband is (unsuccessfully) trying to fish them out with a tweezer and a kabob stick. Why is there a hole in the wall? More on that later. Back to what I was saying...) I teach the way I teach because I’m a mommy. I mommy the way I mommy because I’m a teacher… As for the rest: daughter, sister, friend, well, I’m sort of in the middle of it all. It all bleeds over and into. So I write it all. And here’s the thing about being in the middle… the view. You really do see it all. (Well, everything except those last few Connect4 pieces.)
3 Comments
12/21/2016 05:51:23 pm
Suzanne, YOU have blog envy? I have blog envy of you! Your writer's voice is so funny and relatable! I am a sucker for a catchy title, and I love your "middleness". I, too, and a middle child, and I have to agree that I love the view.
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Jennifer Fischer
1/3/2017 07:19:54 am
I love that this blog post has opened up a conversation between two super cool English teachers! This is what blogging should be all about! Rock on!
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This was a really great blog. I love the way you connected being the middle everything to all that you wrote about. Trying out blogging before you have your students do it is such a good idea. It will give you first-hand experience and will help you when answering any problems they may have when they try out blogging. Great blog!
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AuthorSuzanne Crowley: middle school English teacher, middle child, mid-career, mid-life. And in the middle of it all, mommy. Archives
July 2017
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