About this Blog

“One voice can change a room, and if one voice can change a room, then it can change a city, and if it can change a city, it can change a state, and if it change a state, it can change a nation, and if it can change a nation, it can change the world. Your voice can change the world.”

― Barak Obama

How Our Blogs Began

There’s no time like a pandemic, which kickstarted mass migration to distance education, to begin blogging with students. The push toward technology and need for creativity led me to launch a pilate program with a panel of eighth-graders who have demonstrated a commitment to excellence. I also dragged my fellow eighth-grade English teacher, Mrs. Lentz, and a few of her own hand-selected students along for the ride. Okay, truth be told, she tagged along eagerly. And, after just one week, I found myself wondering why we didn’t embark on this journey sooner.

The Benefits of Blogging

In addition to the seemingly obvious perks of putting young writers in front of a soon-to-be-published post — providing a creative outlet that promotes relationship building and presents young authors with an authentic audience — I found myself wondering about and, before long, researching the benefits of blogging. Here’s a handful of articles I found:

A Safe Place to Post

My students have long heard me hail the need to make our classoom a safe place, and the same holds true for our enviornment here in cyberspace. Student and class blogs are password protected, and students’ last names were reduced to initials for their safety.

Class Blogs vs. Student Blogs

All students are required to contribute to class blogs. A minimum of four class blog posts will be assigned throughout the school year — one each nine weeks. Additional class blog posts may be submitted for extra credit after careful revision and editing, and points will be rewarded based on the extent to which posts reflect pride in author’s craft.

Students interested in stretching their technological and writing skills may design and maintain their own individual student blogs upon request. Extra credit will be rewarded for creativity and pride in craftsmanship.