The Power of Blogging!!!

I began my blogging journey with a lot of uneasiness. I didn’t know if blogging would be for me because I struggle with writing, which I have discussed in a previous blog post about being diagnosed with dyslexia. But with some encouragement from friends and lecturers I decided to give it a try about a year ago. However a few posts down the line the blog got forgotten about until about a month ago. I have now started this new blog and already I have as they say the blogging bug... So what do I value when it comes to blogging?

1) Blogging allows me to reflect and also to develop my thinking -

For me blogging begins on the personal level as I reflect on my experiences, and grows to the interpersonal as I connect with and share those reflections. I also find that writing a blog allows me to think much deeper about the subject I am discussing. As a write a blog post I articulate my ideas, so they become more coherent and logical.

2) It allows me to express myself through my views, ideas and opinions -

Blogging gives me the freedom to put my thoughts into words in a creative way. It also allows me to express myself in a different context. I find that when I blog I take risks because I want people to challenge my ideas and opinions.

3) I learn through blogging -

Blogging is a learning tool available for free at your fingertips. I find great value and insight in sharing my experiences with others and learning from theirs. Blogging has given me exposure to people with a different thoughts and ideas about education than mine. Blogging allows you to challenge other people ideas, which in turn allows you to reflect and question your own. 

4) It is a challenging and rewarding -

I find blogging very rewarding because it amazes me that people from all around the world are interested in what I have to say. Feedback is instant and seeing your viewing stats rise is a great feeling. It makes you want to continue blogging in order to keep your audience coming back for more.

For this blog post I also thought it would be interesting to see what some other people think about blogging. Below are some views which I collected via Twitter.

- Find it very hard but satisfying, makes me realise how difficult writing can be for kids until they find their style! - @buckdenteach

- Best way to encourage reluctant writers, boost confidence, collaborate with schools around world. - @mbrayford

- Great way to reflect on what you've learned and gain feedback that leads you to new avenues of learning. Motivation to share. - @JCBarrington

- Blogging helps those who find it difficult to voice their opinions. You almost take up a different identity. - @kforeilly

- A million monkeys banging on typewriters won't reproduce the works of Shakespeare, but will write the day's new blogs. - @alanmills405

- Blogging engages a wider audience, I find it's a more interesting way to voice opinion and share experiences. It's fun too! - @MeganDouglas26

- Blogging is a great way to learn, share, inspire and be inspired. - @ianaddison

Now you have read why I blog... Why not give it a try yourself. Blogging might not be for everybody, but if you want to give it a go I can assure you that you will surprised how something so simple can be so rewarding. It would also be great for people to share their comments on why they blog below.

What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger...

This is a blog post that is not going to be easy for me to write however I feel I need to do this because I am sure there are many others going through or have been through what I am now. Throughout I am going to be as honest as I can and I would be very grateful for any comments or advice you may have.

For as long as I can remember I have never found writing very easy, particularly spelling and grammar. I have also always struggled to put what I am thinking into words. I know in my head what I want to say but when it comes to writing it down my mind goes round in circles. However I have never thought anything into this because no teacher has ever really shown any concern about my writing ability and I have always done reasonably well academically.

Since I have been at university I have become extremely sensitive about my spelling and grammar difficulties. This is mainly down to comments from peers and also from occasional feedback in assignments. But again no lecturer ever showed any great concern with my assignment writing and overall my grades are extremely good. When discussing dyslexia at university I often thought that sounds like me but I was too embarrassed I suppose to take this any further. And since no one else has ever suggested it to me I thought I was just overreacting. So being the person I am I just bottled up how much these comments upset me and the thought of dyslexia and just but it to the back of my head.

Then on Wednesday evening my demons resurfaced... A comment of my blog post about my spelling and grammar made me hit rock bottom as they say. A lady from Canada expressed her opinion that because I am going to be teaching children I need to be a role model where writing is concerned. I would like to say a big thank you to this lady because she pushed me to stop being ashamed and to go and do something about it.

So on Friday I took a dyslexia test at the university which showed that I am most definitely dyslexic. However I do need to take a longer exam to be properly diagnosed. This result was a big relief because after all this time I now know why I have always struggled. It may have taken twenty-one years to be diagnosed but better late than never. But then again I couldn’t help but feel embarrassed and upset. The first thought that crossed my mind was how can I teach children how to write when I can’t do it correctly myself. Although on teaching practice I always go out of my way to ensure I use the correct spellings and grammar when in the classroom. The second thought that crossed my mind was that I can finally get the help I need to become the teacher that I want to be. I can now get help with my spelling and grammar in order to be a role model for children’s writing.

Over the past few days I have had time to reflect. I may be dyslexic but nothing has ever stopped me to do the job that I want to do, which is to be a teacher. I have always done everything in my power, without any help with my writing, to get where I am today and I feel extremely proud of myself for achieving this. I want to inspire children that do struggle in school to know that no matter what they can achieve their dreams and ambitions. As they say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

I hope this post inspires other people to share their personal stories with others. I also hope that this post encourages people who may be in the same situation as me to take that difficult step in the right direction. It is not easy but remember when you hit rock bottom things can only get better.

The Question is Why??

My name is Rebecca Allen, I am 21 years old and currently in my final year of teacher training at Plymouth university. As this is my first post on my new blog I thought a good place to start would be to share why I am training to become a primary school teacher.

It all started during my school work experience where I spent two weeks in a primary school on the outskirts of Exeter. All it took was those two weeks to ignite the passion inside of me to work with children. From that moment on I have done everything in my power to get where I am today. After two years of doing a BTEC in Early Years at college and now in my final year of my university degree I am still continuing to work hard to achieve my ambition of becoming a primary school teacher.

Out of all the professions in the world I couldnt think of anything else I would rather be than a teacher. To be honest there is nothing more rewarding and satisfying than working with children in any context. Having the opportunity to make a difference to not one but many children over the course of my career is more amazing that any words can describe. Some people may read this and think I am being over dramatic but any person who has the same passion as mine will understand exactly where I am coming from. One thing that has always been important to me is I want to enjoy going to work and what could be more enjoyable than spending you working day surrounded by children. Also any day in the company of children is always interesting and never the same as the day before.

There are so many reasons why I want to become a teacher that I could be writting this blog longer than my entire teaching career. So to share some more reasons with you I am going to just make some bullet points which I am sure many of you can relate with.

• To be able to have such an impact on a childrens lives and their future
• Everyday has new challenges to overcome
• Even though there are always set backs there are more successes
• When a child has that lightbulb moment and it was you that made it happen
• Everyday is more exhilarating than the last
• The amount of laughs and smiles shared in just one day
• I can't stop myself from having fun and enjoying the job
• Teaching allows you to be creative
• You are always learning with the children

And lastly I want to make a difference to the world I live in and one way of doing this is by impacting on the future generation. Being a teacher is not just my career... Its my dream, my ambition, MY LIFE!!!!