Growing Successful – Each and Every Day!
Each month I set out to share thoughts, ideas and information with the school community within this forum – this blog. I often wonder if anyone takes the time to read my blog as I’m sure other “cyber-authors” do. And yet, regardless of who reads them, I continue to post something on a monthly basis. And as I write I can’t help but reflect on our students who are often asked to write throughout the day in their classrooms. Do our students have that same sense of “who’s reading this?” when they complete assignments? Do we tell our students on a regular basis that what they’ve written is worthy of being shared in a public forum? As we implement our newest Assessment and Evaluation document, “Growing Success”, we are very aware that we need to provide students with constructive, timely feedback in order for them to improve. Do we need feedback for blogging or is it enough that someone took the time to read it? Or is it just enough that I get pleasure from the writing?
Do we provide students with authentic opportunities to write and then do we validate what they’ve written? As adults do we demonstrate how important it is to write for a variety of reasons, including pure pleasure? We often talk about reading for pleasure, but how many of us write for pleasure?
Written communication has certainly morphed into a variety of forms recently with the invention of text messaging, BBM’ing and emails. And, in a sense, a whole new language has developed. Our students know that brb means be right back and f2f means face to face. Does simplifying the length of the message simplify the meaning? Or are our students actually communicating in writing more than the previous generation.
Growing up I was on the phone all the time, whereas my children rarely have long conversations on the phone.Kids today collect email addresses and Facebook accounts like we used to collect phone numbers. They txt or BBM their friends throughout the day without even thinking much about it. These days if I have a quick message to send to a staff member or a friend, I rarely pick up the phone and talk to them, I’ll blast off a quick email and trust that they’ll get the message in plenty of time. Back in the day, writing a letter occurred when you needed to share something with family and friends who lived far away or for those times that you wanted to share something extra special and personal. Now we blog our thoughts, ideas and feelings for the world to see.
I recently have started to use Twitter and get regular updates from the various “tweets” I’ve subscribed to. I must admit I love this new technology and learn something from someone’s thoughts and ideas everyday. It’s amazing what can be said in 160 characters or less.
And so we learn it’s not about the quantity, but about the quality of the writing or the communication.
I love quotes and cartoons and so I found what others have said about blogging. Short, brief, to the point, but it communicates very well, I think.
~ A blog is merely a tool that lets you do anything from change the world to share your shopping list. ~
“Yes, blogging is entertainment. It is performance. Each blog post is a show, sometimes an opera, sometimes a 30 second commercial. Like a show, it may start with a bang, lead you along from song to song, have a great climatic moment, then leave the audience wanting more.” (
Do you have a favourite writer? A favourite blogger? Or do you just enjoy reading all the entries your friends post on Facebook? It’s a world filled with wonder and words and, in the end, that’s what school is really all about – helping students to grow to become good communicators, whether it be reading, writing, taking pictures, shooting videos or drawing cartoons.
Today (and everyday) take the time to read something your child has written, or post (if only on your fridge door) a picture they have taken or a drawing they have created. Together celebrate their creativity, for it is in that celebration they will feel inspired and will find themselves growing successful each and every day.