A Confession, An Apology, And A Change

I've posted here almost daily since June, 2009. There are over 1350 pieces in the archives, most of which are unique, although there are a few duplicates because I occasionally dig back into the past for posts from the time when I had no readers, freshen them up with new photos or a bit of updated verbiage, then post them anew. I started blogging because I'd written a handful of early childhood related articles for local magazines, newsletters, and whatnot, thought were pretty good, and wanted them to have a place to "live" beyond the paper on which they'd originally been printed. Over the years, however, this has evolved into a place for my reflective practice, a daily opportunity to think through and process what's really going on with me as a teacher, the kids, the families, and the larger world. That anyone bothers to read what I publish here is both a source of surprise and pride.

During the week I give myself about an hour to write before heading off for school (which is why there are, regrettably, so many typos). Sometimes I wake up already knowing my topic, although more often than not, I turn on the machine and whatever comes out is what winds up on this page. Sometimes I'm inspired by the photos I take of our days at school, sometimes by an article link one of my families or a reader has sent me, but usually it's just whatever is on my mind as I prepare for another day. I think that by now my writing is as good as it will ever be, and I'm proud of the shear volume of material I've produced over the past four years.

That said, I'm pretty sucky about the marketing and communication elements of being a blogger. For instance, I know that I'm not as chatty in the comments, either here or on Facebook, as I ought to be if I were really serious about building the "Teacher Tom brand." My email inbox gets clogged and I know I've allowed many good opportunities to slip by, mostly because I'm just flat-out done with staring at the damn computer. I'm sorry if you're someone who has asked me a question, invited me to speak at your conference or write for your website or contribute to your book, requested I take part in your link-up or forum or workshop or documentary, inquired about advertising or an endorsement, or just reached out to me in friendship and camaraderie only to be met with crickets. It's nothing personal and though it be cold comfort, please know I'm grateful. Please also know, I've always made a mental note to get back to you, but in the scramble of priorities that is the life of teaching in three schools and being a father, husband, and son, I've learned that those mental notes aren't really worth much. 

It's occurred to me that if I'm going to get better at these things, I'm will need to approach it like I do the day-to-day writing, and I do want to get better at these things. I really, really like the daily writing part, and it will be hard for me, but my plan is to cut back to producing new posts 4-5 days a week instead of the current 7, using those stolen hours to focus on the cool stuff that's been falling through the cracks. This likely means that I won't be posting on the weekends, although I reserve the right to change that.

I don't know if anyone cares or not, or if anyone who doesn't read this post will even notice that I'm not posting daily (I'm sure I wouldn't if I were a reader), but it will be a big change for me and hopefully give me some of my best early morning fresh brain time to concentrate on some of these other opportunities. 

Thanks.

I put a lot of time and effort into this blog. If you'd like to support me please consider a small contribution to the cause. Thank you!

-->