BlogginBetsy

I am of the belief that before you can have a successful classroom blog; you need to have your own personal or professional blog. Blogging requires routine, a message or purpose, and an audience.

I personally write for myself (audience) because I consider my writing truly cruddy (see what I mean, what kind of a word choice is cruddy?) I am keying this post in Word since Blogger doesn’t spell check immediately – I need that instantaneous reassurance that my spelling is correct. I learned in third grade that good writing is all about correct spelling. Needless-to-say my writing was non-existent in elementary school since I didn’t even start spelling words correctly till I was in junior high with Joanne Gaspard. (I got the privilege of teaching her daughter MacKenzie twenty years later – Mac was a better speller than I was as her third grade teacher.)

Routine? I write sporadically to sort out all the mixed messages I receive as a teacher, technology trainer, and mother. Being a mother is the best, and perhaps the most difficult job. Raising three children to live in an environment that doesn’t even exist is a pretty exciting situation. I can’t even imagine what types of jobs the Fletcher kids will enjoy when they are in their forties.

I am still trying to sort out my message. As I read through my posts, I see that my thoughts are all over the place. I guess I will just have to continue posting to find my voice and purpose.

I got to spend the afternoon with Glenn and Lisa
talking about blogs. Glenn drug me along because I think he would like me to create a class that teaches people how to create their own blogs and how they can used to enrich and enlighted teachers' lives.
I have found a great blog that takes people step-by-step through creating a teacher blog.

Visit: CSU site for Blog 102 Class

I love change. I love moving furniture in my house, altering the look of my bedroom with the changing of the seasons, always experimenting with new ice creams at Baskin-Robbins.

I have always enjoyed professional development because it gives me new ideas to employ in my classroom, more methods for reaching children, more reasons to teach. When I read Who Moved My Cheese I thought, of course!

Apparently I am an anomaly in my profession. For years it has been difficult for me to understand why all teachers don’t embrace new researched methods to improve their teaching. This past year I have learned that teachers are traditionalists. They often teach how they were taught – like parents who parent how they were raised. It is cyclical.

I have done a lot of reading about how to promote change in the classroom. It has to take place positively; it has to be fun, it has to be easy, and it has to work. That is a lot to ask of the change agents.

Then I saw this video. And I laughed, and laughed, and laughed. Maybe this is a starting point for change.

Teachers and change if this doesn't work try:

http://homepage.mac.com/lesleyu/iMovieTheater.html

Enjoy (-;