Well, it’s the end of spring break for me and I’m heading back to “on-site” work tomorrow (Monday). I’ve been working (the kind of work I adore) this whole time while enjoying being at home and with my family - reality will hit and hit hard when I have to drive 45 minutes to school at 6:30 in the morning.
Anyway, I’ve had a chance to do a lot of reading and “take the pulse”, if you will, of the edublogger community over the course of the last week and it seems as if there are some people rather frustrated with the tech-evangelists among us. I admit right up front about being tech-crazy along with the best of ‘em, but what I think some readers/bloggers miss is that many people blog about a niche-topic as one small part of a whole teacher/person identity. For instance, I blog about education and tech and fail to mention the rest of what makes me who I am and how I teach. That’s what blogs are for, and we need to make sure that we recognize that just because a blogger seems crazy into tech (or any other topic), there’s more to the person behind the blog. For instance, here’s what I DON’T/DIDN’T blog about:
- having kids do crazy fitness stuff whenever they pass a level in our keyboard program, or conversely if they’re breaking a class rule (pushups, situps, skipping, running, hopping, etc)
- having book talks with individual kids during class based on the library books sitting by their computers
- playing on the faculty basketball team vs. students in a game to raise money for the school food pantry
- almost crying when I hear of the joy I brought to a toddler by donating a (used) book to his family - my family has too much STUFF, his has none
- standing awestruck in the school rotunda listening to the middle school jazz band play during morning passing period
- my kids - I can’t even begin to write about my own children - they fill me up and I can’t put it into words
- my husband - ditto
- I don’t blog nearly enough about my passion for reading - it consumes me
- running
- my garden
- politics (but I ache to)
- my obsession with NPR
- my love for popcorn and Kraft (only Kraft) macaroni and cheese (not mixed, though!)
Why don’t I blog about those here? Well, not every topic fits here and honestly, I don’t want to share some of this with the world. I touch on some of it at times, but this blog is a professional and specific identity. I chose to focus on education and technology and occasionally dip into other areas, but these topics are why I’m here. I read outside this area all of the time and share unrelated links on twitter, but seriously, this would be an absolute mess if I mixed it all up.
Don’t for a minute think that because I blog about technology I care about nothing else. Erase it from your head. I have balance on the inside, but choose to share this side of me. Take it for what you will.
For some interesting reading (and some balance), try these -
Do You Know - New Orleans - The Line
Open Thread - Your Favorite Teacher Blogs - Beyond School
and the book that’s been eating at me every.single.second this week since I first heard about it and then began reading it -
A Crime So Monstrous - Face-To-Face with Modern-Day Slavery - E. Benjamin Skinner
My brain and heart are bigger than tech. Trust me.
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
I enjoyed learning more about you but I know exactly what you mean. I balance my life by keeping 2 blogs. One is my blog about education (Successful Teaching) and one is my personal blog (The Life of Loonyhiker). I don’t want to bore my educator friends with stories about my travels and hikes and I don’t want to bore my non-educator friends with all the stories about education. According to my hubby, I tend to do this at parties and passionately talk about education until people’s eyes glaze over so I am trying to share my passion about education more appropriately. :) Great post! Thanks for sharing about yourself!
I would never want to hang out with anyone who uses the label ‘niche’ to describe him/herself.
Blog about other stuff…with alacrity!!!
I’m all for learning about the multi-faceted person behind each blog.
But that’s just me.
Yep, I keep 2 blogs. My personal one I’ve had for years, and my professional one is pretty new. It really simplifies things to focus on the topic that people reading care about.
Nice post, Kate. I have wondered how you have the time to do it all…two kids (right?), frequent blogging, almost constant twitter presence….does she ever clean the house? cook a meal? play with the kids? But then I found out you are 27! When I was 27 (pre-tech days for me) I worked a second job at night while teaching by day; did it for 10 years! Anyway, it’s nice to get a look at the other sides of you.
@Pat - I love reading BOTH of your blogs, and I’ve been especially enjoying hearing about your travels lately. All of your food talk has my stomach rumbling :-)
@Ken - I love how you mix it up on your blog - here’s some baby posts, how about a hard-hitting poem, some edtech stuff, you’ve got it all :-)
@John - I admire anyone who can maintain 2 blogs - 1 just about does me in! I tried setting up a tumblr blog for my personal stuff, but just lost interest (and couldn’t find the time!) I’ve found that letting a little personal stuff slip in here is ok, but most people don’t really want to read that all of the time, as you mentioned!
@Andrea - whoops, that’s what I’ve been missing! Seriously, though, I’ve never been great at cleaning and cooking I do b/c it has to be done, but not a passion of mine. I DO play with my kids, don’t worry :-) After being at home full-time for 2 years, it’s amazing to be back in the professional world - I’m just eating it up! As for family balance, it’s incredibly hard and I certainly have no answers. I have mom guilt every day.
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