Class blogs

Blogs from English 4790: fall 2015

Anella's blog

Chelsea's blog

Joe's blog

Lesley's blog

Marissa's blog

Meghan's blog

Nik's blog

Sarah's blog

Welcome!

Welcome to Teaching Writing! 

While this blog will be written to discuss readings and respond to issues in the teaching of writing, it's also a place to develop a public educator persona.  A blog allows you to express your own ideas, as well as link to evidence, research, images, and websites. It also allows you to communicate with blog readers through comment features.

Shouldn't we be writing academic papers? Why are we writing blogs?
Check out this important post by Peter Smagorinsky about academic writing.  Smagorinsky notes that those of us involved in education need to make our voices heard in public forums, and a blog is a great way to do that.  A blog can be accessed by anyone: colleagues, parents, students, community members, administration.  It's a great way to share what's happening in your classroom, post some of your philosophy about teaching, share research in the field of education with those who may not have read it, help the community connect with your school and your classroom, and simply keep communication open.

Sharing the research that informs your teaching decisions is incredibly important.  Lots of teachers and teacher organizations have blogs, and some of them are really amazing.  You can learn so much from your colleagues all over the world!  Check out The Nerdy Teacher or Walking to School.   Writers Who Care is one of many blogs sharing research in order to advocate for teachers and students.  NCTE's Connected Community provides blogs and forums, spaces for teachers to ask advice, share ideas, and communicate about teaching.  And TED has some really inspiring talks for teachers, like this talk by Rita Pierson.  Even while you are immersed in a classroom filled with students, teaching can sometimes feel like a solitary endeavor.  Make some connections now, and continue to reach out in the future.

I hope that you will use this blog to discuss what you are reading about the teaching of writing, find links to other research, and connect with other current and future educators.  I will post links to blogs shared  by our class, and I encourage you to regularly read them and comment, especially in response to class-assigned readings and in preparation of class discussions.

I'm excited to have a chance to impact you as a future teacher, and I take that opportunity very seriously.  I can't wait to work with you!

This sweet little face is going to need great future teachers! I hope you might be one of them!