John O'Connor's book This Time It's Personal: Teaching Academic Writing Through Creative Nonfiction has been an enlightening read; I would suggest it to all HS English teachers looking to spice up the writing assignments they employ in their classroom. One of the chapters in the book is focused on student blogging. O'Connor suggests that blogs help meet a central goal of his as a teacher, "to bridge the gap between students' lives in school and their lives outside of school" (pg 133). I have to admit that I sometimes struggle to wrap my mind around the relationship between social media and the English classroom. I want to meet students where they are at but still encourage critical, reflective thought. Maybe blogging is the place to make these two ends meet. And who knows, maybe I will discover that they really aren't two separate ends at all...
Inspired by O'Connor's case for including blogging in the writing classroom, I spent my recent spring break designing blogs for classroom use. This year, I am teaching 6th grade and 9th grade English. My goal is that these blogs will serve as places for students to share their thoughts, think critically about the texts they view and read, reflect on their own lives, and evaluate the world around them. I am excited about introducing these in my classroom, though I am sure a learning curve will come with implementation. Let me know what you think about class blogs. How do you handle privacy/security issues related to having students write in a public space?
