*Note: I’m an avid reader by choice, first and foremost; consequently, anything that can attract and maintain my attention will remain my ‘drug’ of choice. Thus, I could not pick only one of my online communities. I'm addicted to both, and have been for quite some time. Read on!*
I first came into contact with Jim Burke during the summer session last year, through reading several of his books. Within the one I wrote a review on, I found his website and blog advertised; from that moment on, I was hooked. I checked back to his blog religiously every week to see if he had posted something new – a thought, opinion, review, lesson idea, encouragement – anything, and I continued to check throughout the year. As a result, I became one of his ‘followers,’ eventually purchasing two of the books I first found in my summer class. Whenever I would feel discouraged, or even if I was just looking to read something from someone who understood and could actually put my fears into words, I would turn to Burke. His ideas are said without trivialization, and his viewpoints are typically ones that I feel all educators should have at some point in their lifetime, free to admit when they’re unsure if they’re doing their best. Burke is straight-forward and honest in his writing – I couldn’t ask for much more.
In one of the early Anchorage inservices, a magazine was passed around and eventually landed in my lap. Edutopia – the name itself sounded intriguing, and as I flipped through its pages, what I found inside was worthwhile to say the least. I signed up online to receive an e-letter whenever a new edition was released. Since then, I have received copious emails and each one I have scoured from
TOP
to
bottom.
Sometimes the information within its pages are just trivial tidbits of educational inspiration, but there are always kernels of truth somewhere within each email, something that I can relate to, find interesting, decide to incorporate into my classrooms. I’ve recently become a little obsessed with this magazine, because I can get it in an e-newsletter, access topics on the web, and there is always SOMETHING of relevance in here. It’s my new addiction, and I’m proud of it. One of the early issues spoke of Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences, and it really renewed my philosophies on education at a time when I needed it most. One of the last ones was just a note encouraging new and aspiring teachers everywhere not to give up on the job search, with recommendations on how to spread your name aside from your local school district’s typical methods.
To access Jim Burke's blog, please click here.
To access Edutopia, please click here.
