Happy 1st Blogaversary!!!
A year has passed… wow. My first post (after some incentive from Jason Renshaw and Ceri Jones, for which I’ll be forever grateful) was written on September 25th, 2010.
In that year I wrote 51 posts (this is the 52nd), had over 30,000 visitors, over 1,000 comments, an eduBlog award for runner-up best new blog and have 70 active subscribers. But this anniversary is so much more than numbers…
It’s about connectedness…about finding like-minded teachers all over the world, most of them I would never have the chance to interact with / even meet face-to-face had it not been for Twitter and the blogosphere. I have learned from reading their blog posts, comments to blog posts and tweets. I have learned from them by taking part in webinars they presented. I have learned. I have changed the way I teach in some aspects, I have incorporated new practices in my lessons, I have experimented much, trying to find better ways to do the same things or only validate the way I was doing things.
I found a place where I feel okay and safe to vent, to share what I feel and think about my teaching… a place to share activities I create, activities I adapt; what worked – and perhaps more importantly, didn’t – in the classroom with my students. I found a place to share my insecurities and shortcomings, and not feel bad about them. Instead, after sharing, all I got was support and people who have/had been through the same experiences. I felt less alone. And other teachers felt less alone as well. It’s a great thing to realize many of us go through the same challenges and doubts, we all feel down and insecure now and then, we all feel a bit lost once in a while.
And for all that I have said, the friends I’ve made because of it, the new-found confidence my readers have given me… I am thankful. May the next year be even more fruitful, hopefully being able to blog more often and continue connecting through here. I wish I could send a box of chocolate as a thank you to each of you. 🙂 You make a difference.
Box of Chocolates 