What I Have Learned About Educational Blogging

Throughout this class, I have learned quite a bit about educational blogging. At first, my conceptual understanding of what blogging was entirely was very limited. I did not know educators and instructors used blogging to discuss concepts like educational methods and hot-topic issues. Blogs, in their purest form, create an open space for discussions around any and all topics. One does not need expert qualifications to create blogs. Educational blogs differ from other blogs in the sense that it focuses on students and the school system. 

An educational blog is much more than a personal journal or diary Stephen Downes states in his blog entry Educational Blogging. By utilizing frequent updates, linking to useful resources, and reflecting a personal style, a blog is a tool that allows students and instructors to organize discussions centered around educational topics. For instructors, this can involve sharing instructional methods, creative ideas, classroom looks, discussion of state standards, and more. I have learned from my experience that while blogging is also useful for teachers, it can also be useful for students. Students can use blogs for classroom discussions, history or literature reports, daily reading journals, and so on. In both examples for teachers and students, blogging creates a creative space that links communities. 

Several icons coming out of a megaphone
referencing the spread of information

For example, when reading my peers' blogs, I am able to learn more about classroom environments and situations that I might not be familiar with. In a peer's blog, I read about using technology in an art classroom. I have had experience as a student using technology like Google Earth to visually explore the earth for science classes, but I hadn't thought of using virtual tours of museums and art galleries to help my art students. I find that a lot these tech concepts can overlap in classrooms. If you are teaching an English class about a certain time period, it may be useful to do a virtual "walk-through" of how society looked at the time; for history, interactive timelines are extremely useful. In a separate peer's blog, I was able to read about a topic I had already considered myself. By reading her blog about family environment's and how it can affect a student's education, I gained perspectives of different approaches to helping these students. And, once again, I was able to read about topics I had never considered through another peer's blog about agriculture in the school. I have no connections to farming or agriculture in my life; my high school had an agriculture program, but I did not interact with it. So, reading about how to help sustain an interest in agriculture within future generations by educating myself on the programs and current technology will be useful to these students.

While I find blogging to be helpful in finding resources and opening discussions, I am not sure if I will continue to use it as a teacher myself. Personally, I enjoy reading blogs more than I do writing them -- but that is not to say they aren't useful or productive. I find that, at the moment, I do not have enough experience for it. I think educational blogging is extremely useful when a well-rounded teacher presents their information or opinions. I also think I could find myself assigning my students to blog if it fits the lesson plans. Any way to keep my students engaged and excited about classwork is useful to me.

Education Topic: LGBTQIA+

An unnecessarily controversial topic in American education today revolves around the LGBTQIA+ community and its inclusion in our classrooms. I say this is unnecessary because the absolute vitriol behind this is insane. We are talking about children learning how to express themselves and understand themselves safely. It is important to offer safe spaces for children to experiment and learn about themselves; our job as teachers is to educate but also safely guide these students through their most formative years.

A large group of people waving rainbow flags in support

Firstly, and I cannot stress this enough, it is so important to allow children to ask uncomfortable/taboo questions. Children are going to notice things in the world - this includes people of different races, gender non-conforming people, disabled folks, and so on. They might not understand what they are seeing, so they're going to ask. A child should not be shamed for asking a genuine question, even if it comes off as insensitive. As long as they are not deliberately hateful, these questions should be welcomed. As teachers, our children might come across uncomfortable themes we are required to teach in novels (the n-word in To Kill A Mockingbird, for example). However, creating a safe space for questioning does not mean allowing other children to bully others. In the same way we wouldn't let a child mock their classmate with autism, students are not allowed to make a mockery of queerness.

Secondly, a classroom library (if allowed by state laws) should be full of diverse books. A Black student should be able to find a book about Black happiness, and a queer student should be able to readily find a queer novel. It might be hard to argue for introducing queer novels into the lesson plan, so subversive teaching is your friend. For example, if you are teaching The Great Gatsby, you might hint at the queer themes in the novel. Leave the floor open for queer readings or connections. In the novel Things Fall Apart, we tend to focus on the masculinity of Okonkwo and his downfall, but why not focus on the queer possibilities of his son Nwoye? It's possible to find any kind of inkling of queerness from most novels in the canon, and I think it is important to at least try and open up the floor for these interpretations.

While it's important to find ways to teach about queer interpretations and themes, it's also important to recognize that this is a battle queer teachers and students have to fight for. We are losing our rights rapidly - from the anti-queer bills passing in Florida to Tennessee's recent ban on drag, we are in danger. Our classrooms need to be safe spaces, but we need to be ready to fight in courtrooms. Protect our books and protect our queer youth.

Education Topic: Family Factors/Home Environment

Understanding the home environment of a student is something I feel incredibly strong about because I was that student. Growing up, my home life was rarely ever stable. Because of divorces, I jumped around from school to school - in total, about six different elementary schools. As a result, I developed the tendency to be quiet and reserved because it was difficult to keep trying to make friends. I struggled a lot in class participation because I was not comfortable speaking out or working in groups. This carried on into middle school, and it was only when I was a sophomore in high school that I truly felt confident in my classrooms. I think part of this was because I took a year long AP class that put me with the same teacher. She didn't ever pry with my home life, but I think the stability of having a year-long class offered me the comfort I needed in order to speak up. She was one of the first teachers I had that really changed how I viewed the classroom environment.

A young girl does her homework

Another incredibly important factor in home life is the economic status of the student. My senior year, I lost both my car and health insurance, my mom was losing the house, and we were struggling to pay for things like groceries. I remember at one point we had lost our WiFi, which made it nearly impossible to do schoolwork at home. I had a huge online project coming up for a class, but our teacher would not let us work on it in class. I spoke to him on the side, mentioned that I had no means of working on it at home, and he did not offer an alternative or support. Because of this, I ended up having to skip his class three different times so I could go to the library and work on my project. I had never skipped a class before, but it was the only way I could do this assignment. My teacher didn't offer any sympathy or support, and I felt lost. I remember feeling incredibly embarrassed about it too because I had never skipped class before, and it was so lame that the only time I was doing it was to do homework in the library. 

Finally, I want to touch on a really personal note - student mental health. This falls into home life in various ways, but I want to emphasize the incredible importance of checking in on your students and offering as much support as you can. When I lost my health insurance, I was no longer able to afford my antidepressants and had to quit them cold-turkey. It is fair to say that I went off the rails after this. I went from a steady A/B student to making Cs and Ds on assignments. Only one teacher pulled me to the side to ask what was wrong, and when I explained to him everything that was happening in my life, he told me not to put all of my eggs in one basket. This absolutely shattered me. I felt belittled and isolated - I essentially felt like he was telling me this was all my fault. I only spiraled harder after this. Obviously, as teachers, we cannot fix every student. But, it is important that we show empathy and offer true support. If I had a teacher who truly showed they cared about me when this was happening, I feel that my last year of high school would have gone so much differently than this. As teachers, we are meant to create safe spaces for learning and personal growth; getting to know your students is the first step of this, continuing your support is the most integral part. Do not let your students drown the same way some of my teachers let me.

Education Topic: English Language Learning

Ever since I was in middle school, I have been interested in English Language Learning. After being introduced to several different types of music like Korean pop music or French music from the 50s, I have found foreign languages incredibly intriguing. As a prospective teacher, my love for language and building a classroom around it has only grown.

Three young students working in a classroom.

English Language Learning, also known as English as a Second Language (ESL) or English as a Foreign Language (EFL), is the act of teaching English language learners the English language. The term ELL when referring to individuals are students who have limited proficiency in the English Language. These students are incredibly diverse socially and academically. The shift of ESL to ELL stems from the fact that some of these students may not be learning English as their second language; it might be their third or fourth! Because these students come from diverse backgrounds, it is important that they receive adequate support from their teachers in the classroom. When learning a new language, prior life experience is incredibly important, but, if your student lacks this, it will be difficult for them to apply the terms they are learning. Scaffolding techniques like graphic organizers, images with descriptions, simplified questions, and read-alouds are extremely useful. These tools help create helpful interactions between students and both their peers and teacher. It takes almost ten years for a student to become academically fluent - using these tools creates opportunities to help students in this process! 

However, the most important thing I have learned about shaping my ELL classroom revolves around the student's comfort. Attempting to reinforce English-only or discouraging the use of their native language is not only extremely unhelpful in the language learning process, it can also harm their confidence. When a student begins learning a new language, the "silent period" is almost always the first stage they enter. This is when a student is reluctant to speak in the language they are learning, but they are still actively learning it. It takes confidence to begin actively speaking, but if a teacher strictly enforces English-only classrooms, a student might not be prepared. Insulting or treating their native language like it is a bad thing could hurt the confidence they need to begin engaging. Making sure our students are cared for and comfortable to grow in our classroom is the most important thing for any teacher.