Having a classroom blog isn't a new thing. 21 years ago I used a typewriter to type out my classroom information for parents and then used the mimeograph (did I spell that right?) machine to create a sticky purple master copy. Then I loaded it into the loud smelly copier. (if you spent too much time with this you would come out of the "teacher's lounge" with quite a buzz and a headache) copier. This required you to pump the primer to get the purple ink to flow across the drum that attached itself onto each white piece of paper. Stacking too many pages on top of each other would cause the ink to smear. If your books or clothes were to make contact with the ink they would be a permanent reminder of important information you were attempting to send home to parents. Needless to say,this type of parent communication was limited to a beginning of the year "get to know you" letter and usually a "it was great to know you" end of the year letter.
Thank goodness the copy machine allowed teachers to make a class set of copies (unless you had the Nazi Principal that counted the number of copies you made and limited you to 25 per week, no joke! and I had 28 kids in my class). Hours were spent creating a cute newsletter with clip art (that you actually clipped with scissors from a clip art book that you had to use one of your 25 copies for) and taping the cute little ducks or flowers (not a lot of variety) around the well crafted lines of the parent newsletter. (many of which were found in the trash or ended up on the floor of the bus for the driver to sweep away.
Newsletters were eventually made on the computer with a few more design options. Then came the class website and finally the class blog. ( I'm sure I've missed a step or two in there while I was cutting or counting copies.) This past school year I actually had parents that used the website/blog to get timely information and share events from the classroom with their family across the world.
Thank goodness the copy machine allowed teachers to make a class set of copies (unless you had the Nazi Principal that counted the number of copies you made and limited you to 25 per week, no joke! and I had 28 kids in my class). Hours were spent creating a cute newsletter with clip art (that you actually clipped with scissors from a clip art book that you had to use one of your 25 copies for) and taping the cute little ducks or flowers (not a lot of variety) around the well crafted lines of the parent newsletter. (many of which were found in the trash or ended up on the floor of the bus for the driver to sweep away.
Newsletters were eventually made on the computer with a few more design options. Then came the class website and finally the class blog. ( I'm sure I've missed a step or two in there while I was cutting or counting copies.) This past school year I actually had parents that used the website/blog to get timely information and share events from the classroom with their family across the world.
My newest venture is to try and create a blog about teaching for other teachers. (Yeah right! I'm thinking to myself!) I love the adorable designs from so many of the blogs out there now. One of my favorites has current applicable information about classroom events that is updated almost daily with pictures and videos of the students enthusiastically storing organized materials into brightly color coordinated baskets. The site adds a quick blurb about reading a new reading strategy book while vacationing on the beach in Bermuda. The teacher profile shows no sign of anxiety or lack of money. (This teacher must be single with no kids, right?) Oh no, this teacher is married to another teacher no less, has four kids, two dogs and is actually a pediatrician but loves kids so much that she finds her true calling to be in the classroom.) Well, I may have exaggerated that profile a bit. Anyway, I don't have huge expectations for this portion of my site. But maybe someone out there will enjoy it.
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