In a timely way, one of my goals for 2009 was to improve my blogging and find a 30 days to better blogging project, and the same day I hear about the 31 Days Project that has just started (I think I’m a few days behind, but that’s okay). I’m torn between doing the beginners and the intermediate project – I think I need something in the middle, but I’ll start with the Intermediate and see how it goes.
“The task for the first day of the 31 Days to Building a Better Blog Challenge is to email a new reader of your blog.”
Because this is a new blog (about 3 days old), this may be a little difficult as I have had only one person comment on my posts (thanks Sue) and I really don’t want to burden her – she’s already done so much to get me this far. So I don’t have to call on Sue, maybe you could comment on my post so that I can achieve the first task.
One of my reasons for blogging is to use it for professional growth and to have conversations about education and educational growth with others.
Earleir today, catching up on some blog feeds via Feedly I read Graham Wegner’s post titled “The 37 And A 1/2 Hours Sham“. Graham talks about the SA Education Department’s policy that requires teachers to do 37.5 hours of PD during the year in order to finish when students do. If they haven’t done the time, then they have to do other duties during the first week of the summer vacation. Because the Department is such a large bureaucracy, the degree of inequity in what teachers do for their 37.5 hours is high and in some cases laughable.
Luckily, I am not in the same system, though I am in the same state and while my school has some very good and generous policies regarding professional development, there is little accountability. I’d really like to see staff being encouraged to blog as a reflective practice and a professional conversation.
I’m hoping that in participating in this project, I can further my professional practice and help staff in my school do the same.
Well, how long did one day (Day 1) take? What a lot of thoughtful comments! I’ve found that it takes time to be a good blogger: following links to blogs, reading through posts, trying to locate email addresses and first names of people, leaving comments on their blogs and following comments on my own. Phew, no wonder I haven’t blogged myself – how do I keep up with this when school is back? I just will, I hope. It’s been busy, and amazing – really enjoying the connections.
