What I have Learned?

Two digital books with an
apple sitting on top

Educational blogs, or edublog, are blogs where there is an educational purpose. For educators, a blog is a
great place for professional development or sharing new resources with others. The blog can be an expressive space for students to develop literature and creatively share their knowledge. Of course, these blogs would be available for all family members to see, so they can see what their child has been working on at school. 

I got to enjoy reading Ava Holders' blog about standardized testing. I agree with everything she shared about the struggles of standardized testing. I also wrote about how standardized tests do not define anyone as a student, and they do not focus on each child as an individual. Ava also linked a great source. I also found Maggie Beeler's blog about children's literature. I loved how she wrote her blog along with her passion for reading. In each of her blogs, she shares personal experiences with books and children's literature. Lastly, I read Marisa Chapman's blog. She shared some fun ways that technology can impact children's learning. There are new things like virtual field trips that take the hard part of field trips away. All three of the blogs I read shared new ideas and new topics I had not thought about yet.

I have enjoyed blogging and think it would be beneficial in my classroom. I could have a blog sent out every week about what is happening that week, but I could also make an example blog for my students. They could choose to blog about an assignment instead of writing an easy, doing research blog or blogging about books they have read. This way, their blogs connect back to the course content, but they have a different way of presenting their knowledge. I also think adding a blogging incentive would help children grow their creativity and explore their classmate's blogs.

School Safety

A sign displaying this 
is a school safety zone

 School safety is more than protecting children from physically harmful situations, but also mentally harmful situations too. Even if there is no threat to the school to physically harm students, there can be people who are mentally harming them. It is essential that security, administrators, and teachers
work together to create a welcoming and inviting environment so students can trust them. If the adults involved at the school can gain the trust of the students, then the students are more inclined to talk to a trusted adult if a situation ends up happening. Educators are in schools for much more than teaching curriculum. They help children socialize, teach life lessons, and support each child so they can reach their full potential. There will always be room to grow when it comes to school safety, and it is hard to know some children are still struggling while feeling unsafe at school.

Personally, I have never felt unsafe at school. This was because my administration in elementary, middle, and high school knew what was going to happen before it happened. They were always aware of any potential threats and handled them before students were affected. We also were a community. I did not go to super small schools, but everyone just knew everyone. The adults in charge of us wanted to make sure they were building a community school culture where everyone did feel safe, and I agree with that one hundred percent. This is one reason I wanted to go into education because I want to help give the same positive school experience that I had. Children spend the majority of their day and lives at school, and there needs to be more done to make their lives safer and more accessible. Today that is a challenging task to complete, but with more adults that care in the school then, we can see some changes.