Blog #4: Educational Blogging

What is educational blogging? If I were asked this question I would define it by saying it is a style of blogging used by teachers or faculty to bring light onto classroom topics or discussions. This is an avenue for teachers to express their thoughts and opinions on aspects of education that affect their daily lives and ability to teach. For teachers they can use their blogs as a way to showcase their students work, the resources that they use in the classroom as well as post helpful tips and pointers for their assignments in class. The blog can be created specifically for the teacher to use with their students or they can create a blog to aid in their communication with other teachers. These blogs can bring up points that encourage the analytical thinking of the readers and deepen their critical thinking skills on many topics stated by US department of education. Blogging is a very beneficial resource for school use whether it be through the use of the teacher or the students. 

Clipart image of a blog post and all of its components 

While reading the ideas of my classmates I was able to learn a lot. The first person that I want to make a comment on is Cat Dillards Blog about School Safety. I loved this post because it brings light to the concept that safety is not only in terms of keeping the children safe from physical harm but also from mental or emotional harm. I want to be a teacher that is a welcoming individual for my students like she wrote about and really work hard to create that safe environment for my students so they know they can always come to me if they need a trusted adult. Another peers blog that I enjoyed reading was Emily Klein's Blog about cyberbullying in schools. I have never been a victim of cyberbullying so her blog really served as a window for me to read about her experience and how harmful it was for her. I am hoping that in the lower elementary grades we will not have to face these issues in class but with technology
becoming such a big deal it frightens me to think that it may actually begin to trickle into the elementary school. I loved how she was brave enough to share her story as well as showcase how beenefical the schools involvement was in helping her get past the cyberbullying that was taking place in her life. The final classmate that I want to speak about is Leanna Lifords Blog about parent involvement with their students. Parent involvement is a very important factor of the students ability to do well in school. One thing that I loved about this post was how she began by stating that the term "caregiver" is more acceptable to use because there are many different family situations and lifestyles and whoever is the person that actually steps up to the plate to raise the child may not actually be their parent. Her post was very informative and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. 

Throughout the past few weeks we have been asked to write multiple blog posts and overall I enjoyed the experience. Before this I had no experience writing a blog and I was intimidated with the idea of this assignment but with time and practice it was very enjoyable. I liked having a space to write about some of the topics that I am most concerned with going into teaching. I also enjoyed being able to read about what my peers decided to discuss. I believe that moving on I will continue the use of a blog as a teacher, either as a way for myself to interact with my students and their guardians or for my class to create blogs as an avenue to share their ideas. 

Blog #3: School Safety

This week I am choosing to create a post about school safety and the importance it plays in our everyday lives as students and teachers. School Safety can be defined as keeping students safe from any violence, harm, bullying, substance use or any other harmful activity while being at school or in a school sanctioned activity. On the National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments website the idea that a safe school promotes the learning of the students and by being in a positive atmosphere safe from harm will benefit their learning in the long run. It has also been linked that if your students are exposed to illegal substance, weapons, bullying or any other harmful activity it will affect their attendance and their willingness to learn and pursue their education. We do not want any student to be scared to attend school due to the fear of harm which is why school safety and ensuring that my students recognize that their safety is important to us will be a main priority in my classroom. 

School Safety is a Shared Responsibility Image

In my classroom I want to ensure that each of my students feel safe from harm. I want my students to know that bullying, weapons or violence will not be tolerated and it will be dealt with seriously if it does occur. A major part of learning comes from your desire to be there and be present, however, if you are missing school due to the fear of danger or harm then you will be missing out on a huge opportunity to learn. On the first day of school I want to cover safety rules with my students and keep them informed on how we will perform drills and what we will do in case of an emergency. Alongside with having a class discussion about how to conduct the drills we will also discuss how we can talk about sensitive topics such as bullying or anything that will be more personal and need to be talked about one on one. I want to implement a way for my students to be able to come to me and have these sensitive conversations without having to bring it up in front of the whole class. In todays age it is very import for my students to know that they are in a safe place when they enter my classroom and I will do everything in my power for them to know this.