I heart Blog: How blogging changed my practice

I have now been blogging for the whole of 2016, making this my most successful New Year’s Resolution of all time.

This is my 50th blog post and the math teacher in me says that’s an average of 1.4 posts a week. I’m not slowing down either. With the introduction of Tech Tip Tuesday a month ago it’s been pushed up to two posts a week.

Here is why blogging is important to me.

An Idea Factory

When I started blogging I was certain I had nothing to say. Regardless, I committed to writing a blog post a week. The first one came with a lot of difficulty and the next one came as well.

Every week I sit down and write another blog post (sometimes two) and every week I have a new idea. How?

Maybe my brain is tiny and can only hold one thought at a time. Or maybe my blog is some kind of weird idea factory.

Thanks to my blog, I’ve had 50 new ideas this year that I wouldn’t have had without it.

Your Ordinary is Another’s Extraordinary

There have been times when I have written posts that have been super popular which have completely surprised me. This one was written in a rage and seems completely disjointed and makes no sense at all. Yet it’s my most popular blog post.

While others I have written, stood back and admired their loveliness and then watched as they’ve crashed and burned. Like this masterpiece. This poor unloved post got a tenth of the views of the one above. But it really is my favourite piece so far. (Please read it!)

That is the way it is though. Share your thoughts and you’ll be surprised which ones resonate with people. You might think something is profoundly dull while others find it plain old PROFOUND.

Find Out What You Think

My own thoughts are mostly a mystery to me. It isn’t until I am forced to articulate them that they are poked and prodded, examined and re-examined. Many a time a blog has started in one direction only to veer off course.

There’s a tricky job interview question that people like to ask about your “teaching philosophy”. 50 Blog posts means I have about 25,000 words written on this very subject. If somebody asks me that question, I’d like to think I’m prepared. Thanks blog.

The World is Bigger and Smaller Now

As a teacher your world can shrink all the way down to the classroom you’re in. But the world is so much bigger than that. Blogging has expanded my world beyond my classroom and given me a way to squeeze the world inside of it. It gives me an opportunity to share my practise and my sometimes wacky ideas. It has also opened up avenues for me professionally which I never would have dreamed possible before.

Thanks

I’d like to thank you for reading this thing. Some people say they blog for themselves but it sure is nice when someone checks it out. Thanks everyone and here’s to fifty more!