In this digital age there are numerous paths to follow. Yet, to do your work well you must choose a few paths that really matter. As you consider those paths you have to consider your ethics, values, time and energy.
I've been blogging for a number of years now. The blog has mostly focused on the following topics:
- School System Communication and Organization.
- Teacher Voice and Balance.
- Learning Design.
As I think about my career and work, I know that I want my primary focus to be work that positively engages and empowers children in ways that benefit individual lives and the world. I want to give children the greatest chance of happiness, fulfillment and contribution.
I am fortunate to work in a school system that has wonderful tools, dedicated professionals and an eye on the future when it comes to systems, communication and organization. That provides me with a terrific classroom laboratory for optimal learning design. I enjoy weaving the best, new tools and processes with tried-and-true traditional practice to positively effect student learning. I look forward to embedding the latest research into the work I do, and I benefit from collaboration with similarly focused educators near and far, online and off. Hence, my primary focus at the moment is optimal learning design that embeds cognitive research, state-of-the-art tools and processes, and lifelong learning skills.
By staying in the classroom and working with students on a daily basis, I am able to offer a front row seat to the learning process and design. I believe that this hands-on, practical view can work to provide researchers, educational leaders and teacher colleagues the chance to see education through the lens of one classroom. Similarly, I look forward to reading the posts of other classroom teachers who work in both similar systems and schools as I do and systems that differ greatly with respect to context, student population and focus.
We all bring our unique perspectives and voice to the learning conversation that is ongoing via Twitter, blogs, books, research, conferences and other platforms. And as we share our unique views and perspectives, it is essential that we are transparent about our aim and point of view. Hence at this turn in the road, I am recommitting to my work as a classroom teacher who is dedicated to designing learning events so that all children learn and grow with strength and promise. As educators know this is easier said than done, but a worthy direction nonetheless.
Why do you blog? What is your goal? Where is your direction? With so many paths to travel, it is essential that we stop now and then to focus effort.
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