why I blog

In my husband's grad program they were asked to debate the relative merits and demerits of blogging. The biggest complaint against blogging was that it is such a self-serving and self-aggrandizing vehicle. And, I can see that point.

I don't blog just to see my thoughts on the screen, and neither (I think) do the people who's blogs I tend to read. I fell in love with blogs when I realized how much we can reach out and form communities across space. I read a handful of blogs fairly regularly and I love that I can be invited into these communities in such an intimate way. OK, that sounds corny.

But, teaching is such a lonely profession in so many ways. I have colleagues for sure. But we all teach different material. And we all teach at the same time. I can't pop into somebody's room just to see what they do. My students come in, my door closes and its just the 26 or so of us. But with the few listservs and blogs that I read and participate in, suddenly that door is able to open again. I love talking to people about the things I love doing - teaching, speaking different languages, theology... I get "jazzed", to quote my husband, and I need that interaction to be at my best. So I blog to keep the lines of communication open, even if it sounds corny. :)