Why Educational Blogging?

Educational blogging is a growing source for people to share their ideas, opinions, and plans. Teachers, administrators, and learners everywhere are creating blogs to educate and inform others and to connect with their readers. There are many rewards and challenges that accompany this form of educating. For example, finding the right topics and opinions to share can be difficult at times. But the freedom of writing educational blogs has shown to be very fulfilling. They tend to be more casual and conversational, giving writers a chance to express themselves, while still being informative. Even students can benefit from blogging because it gives them an opportunity to grow in their writing skills and creativity, all while expressing themselves.

A teacher works on her educational blog 
outside of the classroom environment.

Another great thing about educational blogging is getting to read others' blogs. I have personally enjoyed reading Ava Holder's "Home environments effect in the classroom" blog post on her "ETEC 386 blog". From this reading I was able to discover the importance of students having a supporting environment at home and how their environments could affect them in the classroom. Furthermore, because of educational blogs, I also got the chance to read about school safety on Skylyn Wood's blog post "Safety Safety Safety" on her blog site, "Skylyn Wood Speaks". Here, she discusses the importance and increasing intensity of this issue.With the growing pressure to address this school safety, Skylyn explains that schools need to improve their classroom environments to create a safe place where students can ask for help and receive care and guidance. With educational blogs you can even read up on parent-teacher relationships as Anna Dutrumble discusses in her blog post "The Importance of Teacher-Parent Relationships" on "Anna Dutrumble's Educational Blog Series". With this reading, you can learn great ways to create positive parent-teacher relationships. No matter the educational blog, there is likely something beneficial to be taken away from reading them!

Overall, I think educational blogs is a very valuable tool to have. It can be a way to self-express or a way to connect to others. If you are trying to solely inform your readers, then you have the opportunity to do that, too. This is also a great way to allow students to showcase their skills and thoughts, and this is a terrific way to engage them. So far, my experience with blogs has been positive. I have had the opportunity to research topics, define their importance, and share my thoughts on them. Being able to do this has been valuable to me because I think it will help me become a better educator and more knowledgeable person in general.

Cyber Bullying

Ever since school has existed, bullying has been around and has been perpetuated through its classrooms. Unfortunately, with the creation of technology, cyber bullying came along. The more access students have to technology, the more likely cyber bullying is going to occur. This is why it is more important than ever to help prevent this type of bullying. More and more children of all ages are gaining access to devices, messaging, and social media. To add, in this day in age it is easier for children to get access to potentially harmful material and gain access to social media accounts without an adult knowing. However, not only is cyber bullying more likely now, its consistency for a single individually is more likely. This is because cyber bullying can happen any time of the day. With other forms of bullying, it can usually be avoided once a student returns home for the day. But with cyber bullying, it can start once a child reaches home. It can be perpetuated on the weekends, when a student is out of town - just about anywhere. This makes it more difficult to recognize when this is happening and challenging to take the measures to combat it. 

Examples of how students may experience cyber bullying.

There is a strong chance that a friend you know or your own child will be or has already been cyber bullied before. When I was in middle school, I was cyber bullied through social media on the way I looked. This was accompanied by in person bullying and was inflicted by two girls who I originally was friends with. I never told an adult about this while it was going on, so no one was aware of what I was experiencing. As a result, I know how easy it is for this to happen to a student, and I am aware that many students are not going to want to tell an adult. I think as teacher, I want to emphasize the importance of a student telling someone if they are being cyber bullied. If not, students can experience emotional issues, such as isolation, sadness, anger, anxiety, and much more. I want to equip my students with the knowledge of what cyber bullying is and how to approach it. During present times, it is so important that my students and their guardians be aware that this is an issue, and we can combat it together.

Art Integration

For years, studies have shown many benefits of integrating the arts into schools. This could include anything from drawing to listening to music to performing theater to creating crafts. Integrating these activities and studies into regular classroom instruction can prove very beneficial. This is because when the arts are combined with common instructional learning, students having a better chance of improving their problem-solving skills, critical thinking skills, and communication skills. In addition, students will be able to tap into their creativity and imagination once given the opportunity through the use of integrating the arts. With art, students can visual concepts better, engage in more hands-on learning, and become more motivated to learn. It also allows students the opportunity to discover the art and culture they most connect with or are interested in, and it helps them appreciate the world of art.

Students shown working on an arts and crafts assignment.

When growing up in elementary school, I remember always feeling more engaged when we did art activities, learned about historical art, or had some form of art integrated in the core subjects of math, science, history, or reading. In these moments, I felt like the class became a stronger community. Most students loved coming together to do anything related to art. Everyone was more at ease, everyone was friendlier, everyone was more engaged, and everyone simply liked participating. I believe this is a great example of how powerful a tool art can be. It can create a better classroom atmosphere, motivate students to participate in learning, and improve learning skills. Unfortunately, the importance of art in schools has not been on the front horizon. A significant emphasis is put on the standard, core subjects. Although very important, these topics do not encompass all the skills and knowledge important for students to learn. Without art and the culture and skills that accompany it, students are at a loss of much growth and development that would prove beneficial to their learning and life.

Should Mental Health Care be Addressed in Schools?

In schools, the care of students is of utmost importance, which is why the mental health of students needs to be addressed. For years, educating students on mental health care has been neglected, and schools have been lacking in their care towards students' mental health. Making sure students are being cared for emotionally is important because the well-being of students affects all aspects of their lives. Students cannot properly function in school and life if their mental health is not cared for. Educating students on this topic and providing the care they need will prove beneficial not only for their current emotional and academic needs but in the life ahead of them, too.

This student is unmotivated to learn because
of the challenges she faces beyond
 the classroom.

Growing up, students are going to face all kinds of challenges within and outside the classroom. Making sure students know they are cared for throughout these difficulties will help them feel comfortable and safe within the classroom. In addition, actually offering care through services through the school will prove very beneficial because students will be able to address any concerns they have while getting the help they need. Students face troubles at home and in their community and do not always have the proper care for circumstances like these. This is where school can come in and support. But what if your child does not need support for situations like this? Even if a student does not seem to need separate care for their emotional well-being, having awareness of mental health and emotional care will go a long way. Introducing and  informing students on this topic early on will not only make them more empathetic and aware of others around them, but it will give them the information they need in case they eventually face situations where they need separate support for their mental health or need to be more aware of what they are facing.