Bonkers for Bloggers

     Throughout my research of a variety of education bloggers, I have learned that these blogs are incredibly helpful to other educators as well as student teachers. They provide others with an extensive amount of knowledge and new ideas to be used in the classroom, truly showing us how important sharing is.  Education bloggers allow a space for others to review and gain new ideas for lessons, activities, and concerns for in the classroom, schools, and with students. Allowing teachers as collective to form a community as well as better themselves and their schools.

    One of the blogs that stood out to me was Discovering the Power of Neurodiversity "Embarking on a Learning Safari with Mark Stoddart" talking about the importance of recognizing and not only that, but understanding the different ways students minds work and think. Using himself as a personal example, as he notes that he is someone who lives with Dyslexia. He has written a book called "Making a Mark!" in order to help spread awareness of how important understanding neurodiversity; he acknowledges that one of the most important reasons for his creation of the book and this project was to challenge the more conventional norms of education. Unfortunately in our education systems the idea of what works for one works for all, which is rarely the case for any classroom or individual student. Stoddart's goal for readers of all ages to understand that neurodiversity is not just a trend to follow but it is a fundamental human experience that should be embraced. I love how Mark not only acknowledges this topic but informs his readers and followers of the importance of differentiation in the classroom to make all students feel welcome within the education community as well as providing resources for teachers and students to help them and encourage them to learn about their learning differences. 

    

image credit: free images

 The second blog that I enjoyed viewing was Jennifer Gonzalez blog "Unpacking Trauma-Informed Teaching" I found this very interesting as I believe it is very important to understand what a student is experiencing or struggling with while they are in your classroom. She provides multiple different ideas and strategies on how to be more aware as well how to work with students who may be struggling or have past trauma. Another aspect of this blog post that I strongly agreed with was how the idea behind trauma is considered, it is made clear that trauma can be from any situation and at any degree. Gonzalez has my follow as she provides educated thoughts and ideas for all teachers and creates a safe community and environment for all. 

    

image credit: Google images

The last blog that caught my eye was Vicki Davis' "28 Questions to Ask Yourself As You Plan Your Year" on her blog Cool Cat Teacher.  She provides plenty of information for teachers new and old with her many different topics discussed on her page. I find this incredibly useful as it allows others to find their way when fist getting into the career as well as gives new opportunities and ideas for those in a bind. In her one blog about planning for the year she provides not only help on how to plan for the school year but free templates to help get yourself started. Not only does she have a blog with all of this information but a podcast reiterating the knowledge shared through her blog posts adding in more detail within it.  

image credit: free images

Sincerely, 

Miss K Barnes