EDUblogging...Why It Can Be Difficult4/18/2016 In 2016, the sharing of information and resources is vital to the growth of education as a whole. Whether it is through Twitter, Voxer, podcasts, or any number of online resources, the internet provides educators the resources to help educate and guide students to be productive citizens in the 21st century. I also thoroughly enjoy reading other educators reflections of their experiences in their classrooms and schools. However, I find EDUblogging extremely difficult.
If you check out my blog you will notice that it has dried up like the Platte River during a hot summer in Nebraska. This isn’t because there is a lack of amazing things happening at MHS to share with the world. Those posts are shared regularly on the MPS Facebook and Twitter accounts. The lack of posts is more a personal matter that every educator deals with on a daily basis. From the outside, education is about testing, and curriculum, and board meetings, and sports teams, and evaluations, and the list goes on and on. I don’t disagree with any of this but when it comes down to it, education is about one thing, relationships. Relationships are the key to any well run organization but are especially important when you are dealing with 12 to 18 year old kids. And for that reason, relationships are what make EDUblogging so difficult. Everyday, educators have hundreds of interactions with students, staff, parents, and community patrons. Each of these interactions could lead to a great blog post that would interesting for the average reader. However, one mistimed, misconstrued, or misinformed blog post could ruin a relationship that took years to build. Schools need to be a safe place for all students but especially those who are struggling with life. Every student deserves to have a trusted adult they can confide in when needed. Every educator who truly cares about kids and building those positive and safe relationships has had a difficult conversation with a student who needed someone to talk to. Students today deal with home issues, academic struggles, drug abuse, dating violence, self harm, or an entire list of social factors which impact their daily lives. The fact that they can confide in a school employee means they trust this conversation will remain confidential, unless other agencies need to (or are required to) get involved. While many of these conversations would make for an intriguing blog post, it would also violate a trust that took years to build. While I love blogging and the power sharing our personal stories has, I love kids and helping them more. In no way do I want to violate this trust that I have built with them. Some of our most frustrating students or circumstances end up becoming our greatest victories because a relationship was developed in which the student decided to trust in what we were doing. I want to continue to see students leave MHS with not only a high school diploma but knowing a building full of dedicated adults were willing to help them write a better story for themselves. As we say everyday at MPS, “Everyone has a story...make yours worth telling.”
2 Comments
david friedli
1/16/2017 06:05:39 pm
Much like military security: " I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you." Most everything we say sounds like sweet roses...as you point out, much of our school life isn't. Your commitment to the outcome we expect for students is part of the "Today is a new day" philosophy we take to help students move forward, even if yesterday was not a stellar moment for them (or for educators, for that matter). As administrators, we develop a self-sufficiency that includes holding back on sharing aspects of our profession...from the public, from our peers and from our family. Once upon a time, I had a book titled, "Is It Worth Dying For?", given to me by a former principal and mentor just as I was getting my certification. You love what you do, and Milford students are better because of it. Be sure you can (and do) have a place where you can let down the mask. (Speaking of which, a nice quick read on tomorrow's Ice Day would be the short story "The Minister's Black
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Brandon Mowinkel
1/16/2017 07:36:49 pm
Thanks for the comments Dave! I always appreciate your insight and feedback. Administration is a very rewarding profession that at times can seem overwhelming with the struggles we see our students and staff go through. I will definitely check out your suggestions tomorrow. What makes admin so great is the amazing network of peers such as yourself I get to ride along with on this journey to helping kids succeed! Have a great ice day tomorrow as well!
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