Reason #4 for Administrators to Blog
In many ways, the best reason to blog is the personal side of it. I can write ten posts about the business of running a school and receive two comments total. But if I write one post as a parent or a friend, I’ll receive ten comments on those two posts. Why? I think it’s because readers relate best to the human interest story, the personal side of life.
When I share what I really think about those topics most important to me, readers come to have a sense of who I am as a person. I’m not just some suit sitting in an office. I’m real to them and that makes me more approachable. They feel as if they know me and can talk to me about their own kids or the problems they’re facing or their complaints about our district. I need to know all of that to make things better. And I care enough to want to know.
Parents don’t want some suit they can’t talk to, they want a real person who will listen and understand and help them to problem solve. Putting yourself out there on the blog helps them see who you really are.
I’ve blogged about my son’s accident, my daughter’s student teaching, a dear friend’s son’s motorcycle accident, and 357 other posts in the last three years.
I can share my thinking about the huge moments in life and get it out of my head. And we even used the blog to share daily updates and pictures of their kids on a blog log of a student tour of Europe. What parent could resist that?
I won’t say much about it now, but also consider the blogging legacy you can leave behind. We don’t have to be published authors to do leave that “legacy” any more. It can happen right here, on your blog. 🙂
I cam currently take a clss; 23 things Administreator’s need to know about Web 2.0 and they directed me to your blog. All I can say is thank you. You have helped me open my eyes to new opportunities of communicating with my “stakeholders”. As a fellow administrator, I read through all four of your “Reasons to Blog”. You hit the nail on top of the head in all four. I am at the beginning stages of bloging but I will be frequently vivisting your site as a guide to improve on what I CAN be doing.(Got to love how we as educators beg, borrow and steal. lol)
Hello Kim:
I’m enjoying reading your blog. Thank you for making is personal, but also professional. I can read all the studies and all the professional interpretations elsewhere – what’s valuable to me as a school board member is to listen to you share as you “apply” educational lessons or simply share about your day. I read your blogs and blogs like yours because you help make me understand the street level nitty gritty education issues – and that helps make me a better school board member. So, thank you!
As a side note, I’m perhaps one of a handful of school board members in the US that blogs. I would appreciate the opportunity to banter about education topics with you — maybe (hopefully) we could both learn something. Feel free to leave comments on my blog if you have the time – http://www.school-of-thought.net. I will do the same on yours.
By way of introduction, I serve on a five member board that governs a 3800 student k-12 district plus a 1200 student two-year postsecondary technical education school in South Dakota. I know that sounds strange to many, but that’s how our state is set up – local control over the technical schools.
I look forward to visiting with you.
As a blogger myself, I find it as a release. Now, I don’t really know if anyone actually reads my blogs, but it is a way for me to make a connection to those that may do so. Blogging personal information does make yourself real to those that may see you as just a suit, or for me a robot that plugs in at night in the classroom. That is what it is all about! Your legacy can live on and it is through the wonderful world of technology to thank for it. Social networking sites such as Myspace and Facebook are already rocking the world and allowing people to essentially “blog” and share their legacy in various ways. I often wonder what will come next in this day in age with technology with blogging and keeping the legacy alive? Any thoughts?
Great catch on the timestamp Michelle. I sleep quite well actually. You can’t ever pay attention to my timestamps as I tend to write several posts at once and then I set timers so they don’t overwhelm readers by coming out all at once. Yesterday I posted more than I like to because I wanted them out there for today’s conference participants. Thanks for always reading and telling me what you think!
I just keep wondering…..it the time stamp on this post correct? 1:42am on October 1? What time zone where you in? But truly, it’s posts like this that make you an outstanding administrator, excellent educator and fantastic friend!
🙂