My Take on Educational Blogging

An educational blog is a blog that is meant to educate. A blog is a kind of social media tool that allows one to share one's ideas, and allows for a broader outreach than typical means of sharing ideas. Educational blogs are also effective because not only do they allow a broader outreach, but they also allow more opportunity for engagement and discussions or conversations. Blogs can be an effective way for teachers to teach students communication skills and foster a sense of excitement about learning.

One fact that I found interesting from Sabrina Brightman's blog post was that being a teacher has a lot of stress and responsibility, and teachers make very low salaries. This was something that I have been thinking about, as I have interned with an elementary school teacher at Fountain City Elementary this fall. My mentor teacher told me that she almost quit her job teaching because of how stressful it was and how she could barely afford to support herself with the teacher salary. From Kenzie Hall's blog post, I learned about how prominent cyberbullying is, and how a lot of parents and teachers are not aware that their children or students are being cyberbullies because it is only visible to the child and his or her perpetrator. I liked her point that she as a future teacher will have the power to influence her students' lives, and hopefully become a rock and support system to them. From Stevie Makre's blog, I learned about mental health issues in high achieving students. I liked her point about how high achieving students are a lot more stressed because they have pressures from their teachers and parents to do well, as well as the need to compete with their peers to be the best. I think mental health awareness is a prominent issue that needs to be addressed in school. 

I have had a very positive experience with blogging. I like how it takes writing to a different level, and allows a lot more discussion and communication between peers. I have always written papers throughout college, which I find boring and less interesting for someone to want to read. Blogging makes writing fun, and a lot easier for parents and other people to view and read my thoughts. When I teach one day, I will be sure to use blogging to reach the parents of my students and provide resources for them.