:: Monday, January 19, 2004 ::

where I've been

Since I started this blog, I've been struggling with what to write. And as a result, I have been writing nothing.


My main concern has been whether or not it is appropriate to include personal information in my blog, particularly since the public nature of the blog allows my students access. How much of my life do I feel comfortable showing? Tonight it occured to me that trying to shield my life beyond the classroom from my students is not only antithetical to my teaching philosophy but is also simply against my nature. I am not a closed off person. What I feel shows in my face. What I think shows in my eyes. Whenever I am visible to others, I am open to interpretation. I am not difficult to read and I value honest discourse most of all, which unfortunately often causes me problems. I talk. I talk a lot and when I talk, I am not secretive. As a result things are overheard or misheard and misunderstandings and other craziness ensues. This is why I've avoided writing publicly. I'm afraid of writing and being misunderstood or having others distort my ideas. However, I teach writing and I employ blogs in that teaching of writing. How, then, can I ask my students to write openly and speak openly and put their words out there with all of the possibilities for misunderstanding if I myself am unable to do the same? So, I am reentering the world of blogging and engaging in an ongoing conversation with those who might read this and with those whose works I read. I am also learning, along with my students, how creating dialogues might help us to enrich our lives as human beings and enable us to engage in the struggle for critical literacy.

:: Cat 12:52 AM [+] ::
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