The Why of Blogging

Thanks to the blogopoly of The Education Wonk's dedication to finding great links, I was able to read Dana Huff's post on education blogs.

I had to ask myself two questions:
1. Why do I blog?
2. What is the purpose of my blog?

Having a lot to say doesn't grant one the right to say something. Everyone around me knows I have a lot to say. I blog because I believe that my experience, both personally and professionally has something to offer, in terms of the stories I can tell, to the education community. I believe that, despite my lack of tenured experience, my daily grind in the classroom may offer to someone, and at no particular time and for no particular reason, a sense of connectedness, agreement, inspiration, caution, or any other sense.
It is important to me that what I say on my blog has some purpose behind it. I would hate to think that my peers and audience read my words and when finished ask, "Why did I just read that?" The Daily Grind's purpose is to reflect on my profession. Sometimes that reflection will take me down the "us vs. them" road as the Education Wonk put it; but I hope that more often than not, I am offering an honest evaluation of what we do. I hope that I can be fair.
Alexander Russo has written an article regarding teachers and blogs. He has included some comments about my blog. I don't think he's done me justice; but, I think that all dialogue about education, if intended to better the process, is beneficial. We are not just talking about our jobs, we are talking about affecting the future of children. I think that is worth being critical, in the true sense of the word, about what we all do.