Blogging, professionally, is a good thing

I’m naturally shy around people I don’t know. It usually takes me a little while to warm up and get comfortable. So if you asked me to blog and network online with other educators, a year ago, I probably would have freaked out. The weird part is, it has been something I’ve secretly wanted to do for a few years ​but it just didn’t work out when I tried. Something I’ve done though is blog for my parents at school but I haven’t done is blog for myself.

 But I guess it’s easy for me to do something for my kids. I just do it because it is what is best for my kids in my room. Bottom line – no hidden agenda – it is always for them. If something is not working out, I am quick to brainstorm. Then I do a little research and implement something new. I give it time and if it still isn’t quite right, I change it again. It’s just what I do. I do not have to second guess it.

But when it came to something that asked me to share what I know with other educators online.…it freaked me out. Maybe it was that whole idea of it being out there for the whole world to see. 

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Because teachers I have worked with have always asked me how I did this or that. Or what I thought about this practice or that practice. That has never bothered me. I would talk with them for hours about different educational practices in person. I enjoyed it!! But to write it down....nah! Again, it has to have been that whole writing it down thing for the world to see – yikes!!
 
So this whole experience has pushed me out of that freaked out stage into a, “What can I blog next?” stage.

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It has made me think even deeper about my practices and what I value as an educator. Blogging has pushed me to continue to develop myself as a writer and really focus on the process that I am doing with my students.
 
I feel so fortunate to have had so many people in my life who have inspired me and guided me along my path that I only want to give that back to someone else. So if I can inspire one person through my blog, then I have been successful. 

The good news is, no longer am I freaked out about blogging professionally... I’m always thinking about what I can blog next.
 
Until next time,
Jackie