Lost my blogging mojo.....

I am so convinced of blogging's power to make me a better educator. Blogging is the most powerful tool for reflection. When I craft a post for my professional blog, there are enormous benefits for me and in turn, my learners.

•  Blogging makes my thoughts and beliefs about teaching and learning clearer and helps me see what I need to do to improve my practice. 
• Feedback from others is enormously beneficial and the quality of the conversation has real impact on what happens in our classroom.
• Blogging makes me a better writer and writing teacher. Sharing my personal blogging experiences with my students has had real impact on their view of blogging as a useful learning tool. 

And there's always the possibility that what I share on my blog might benefit someone else. I really do believe in sharing and collaborating but I often have that nagging thought, "Who would want to read this when the interwebs are full of the blogs of truly phenomenal teachers, contemplating deep philosophical ideas about learning and doing incredible things in their learning spaces?" 

But then my growth mindset voice kicks in...... my posts are not of the quality of those rockstar teachers YET! 

And so I persevere, not because I'll ever be a rockstar teacher but because I blog for me; I blog because of the benefits I get from sharing and being part of a PLN. I blog because I encourage my students to create content to give back to our online community, not just take.  

But recently, I lost my blogging mojo. I hugely missed the benefits of blogging but couldn't bring myself to blog about anything.

I had lots of questions about the purpose of my blog but the biggest was this........... 

What is the role of my school in my blog? Where does my school end and Bridget start? Are we too heavily entwined meaning my blog has simply become a collection of recounts of things that happen at my school?

Over the weekend, I read two posts from two of my favourite bloggers; posts that cemented my ideas about MY purpose for blogging. 

The first was from Stephanie Thompson. Stephanie is the most incredible teacher and when my class first started blogging in 2013 (yes we were fairly late to the party!) I was teamed in an amazing quad which included Stephanie and her class for Aotearoa Quadblogging. 

Stephanie's great post is here; Is online sharing about the journey or the destination?

It reminded me that blogging is about sharing the ups and downs of life in our classrooms. It is not about having all the answers and its value is in the conversation it inspires. Yes, I've experimented with writing posts that sound like I think I have all the answers but I can assure you I don't! 

Another post that reminded me of the value of sharing was this one from the amazing Silvia Tolisano of Langwitches. 

Reflection about Anne Frank

What struck me most was the idea that even the most mundane things should be documented. I can do that! 

And then she shared the link to this oldie but goodie.......

So thanks to these two amazing bloggers, I'm going to get back on that blogging wagon.....here we go......

On being a risk-taker.....

As a PYP teacher, the need to encourage growth through taking risks is always in the forefront of my mind. We constantly talk with our students about what being a risk-taker looks and feels like and the personal development and benefits we can experience when are brave and push ourselves out of our comfort zone.

From http://www.startofhappiness.com/ 

I've been blogging with my class for a while now and while I have toyed with the idea of starting a professional blog on numerous occasions, I've never had the courage to take this step. I've been terrified to put myself out there for critique by peers who I admire and look up to. I'm incredibly anxious about opening myself up to scrutiny by educators whose opinions I value and whose expertise I am inspired by.  I am not sure why I feel this way as I am a prolific reader of educational blogs and have always had a deep admiration for those who blog about their experiences as educators, teachers who care deeply enough about the difference they are making for their students to seek feedback from other teachers or to share their expertise. I have found their musings to be so helpful. So I'm not sure why putting my thoughts and reflections out there is so terrifying.

Perhaps it is because I don't consider myself to have all the answers; sometimes I don't consider myself to have ANY of the answers! But I certainly have a lot of questions, questions that I'd love to mull over with other educators.

I was fortunate enough to attend the GAFE Summit, South in April. Kimberley Hall talked about Virtuous Circles and I realised that I while I was doing three of the steps, I was definitely not creating content.

A Virtuous Circle shared by Kimberley Hall at the Gafe Summit. 

Claire Amos's and Steve Mouldey's #hackyrclass project was the final push I needed to start documenting my challenges and celebrations as a teacher.

So today I am being a risk-taker. I'm putting myself out there, dipping my toes into the blogosphere so to speak.  Wish me luck!