Why I'm Blogging

For the past several years I have been teaching laboratory science at one of the most-overcrowded high schools in the U.S. Many of my friends and family members enjoy hearing my stories of things that happen in and around my classroom. They always want to know what its really like for someone they know, so they can compare it with all of the stories they come across in the media and contrast it with their own experiences. This blog is primarily for them. My secondary audience is people who don't know me, but are just curious to peek over the shoulder of a teacher at an urban high school to find out what really goes on....the highs and the lows, the joys and the jokes. This is also a stress-release tactic for myself...I like sharing what I do with others and I find writing relaxes me, and this time for reflection will help me put my experiences in perspective. I have a habit of whining and complaining, so I'm also writing this to train myself to do less of those things, which will certainly be beneficial for you and me! (Feel free to point out when I've lapsed!)

My intention is to report what goes on without identifying any individual students, colleagues, my school, district, city and state. The reason for this is that I would be breaching privacy (legally and morally) of people and I think my experiences are not exclusively unique to my location and employer. So, I'll undoubtedly have to come up with fake names for people, places and entities....I hope I can figure out good ones!

So, if this sounds like something you'd like to read, please do. I'm also open to reading your comments and answering questions you may have. I'm thinking that I'll probably blog at least a couple of times every week during the regular school year. We'll see how it goes. If by some miracle, nothing noteworthy happens in or around my classroom (okay, that's not even within the realm of possibility, so I won't even finish that sentence.....

Tutu