Educational Blogging

Blogs can be used for a variety of things and can have many benefits for students. According to the article Benefits of Blogging in Education by the Learning and Educational Center of NSU Florida, blogging can promote self-expression, develop analytical thinking, and exercise students' creativity. Blogging can also encourage students and teachers to share their resources amongst one another. It allows for students' to be able to find their voice while writing and allows them to be thoughtful about what they are writing about. Creating blog posts allows students to have creative expression. They are able to design it to their liking.

A desk with a test and an answer sheet.

While reading Marisa Chapman's blog Elementary Education in Miss C's Classroom, I was able to see her view on standardized testing in elementary schools. She brings up the idea that standardized testing can cause conflict within school systems. This is something I wholeheartedly agree with. She also mentions that one of the reasons for this conflict are that, "These tests do not measure students' natural abilities though, and should not be used as an indicator of intelligence level". I agree with this in that in many instances, standardized testing is not able to evaluate a child's entire intelligence. It is mostly conformed to what school systems think children are supposed to know and leaves out other forms of intelligences that children may have. I was also able to learn what the Whole Child Approach is while reading Haylie Daugherty's blog Educational Thoughts with Haylie. The Whole Child Approach is something I have never heard of before in education, but I am all for it. This approach basically means that we as educators have the responsibility of thinking of our students beyond their academic skills in the classroom. We are to understand that our students have, "their own unique experiences mentally, physically, social-emotionally, cognitively, and academically". We must think of the child of having their own identity first, "Teaching to the whole child means you get to know the children so that as a teacher you can create curriculum to fit each child's needs based on current and past experiences". I think this is such an important topic in education and is something I support. I think that many students, no matter the age range, can benefit from this approach. Haylie mentions some benefits of this approach in her blog such as the children feeling more open and safe, that it allows teachers to teach in a developmentally appropriate way, and it helps build the relationship between teacher and student. Lastly, I was able to read about classroom management from Saylor Johnson's blog Ms. Johnson's Blog. Saylor states that classroom management keeps students organized, attentive, and actively productive in class. I agree with this because I think that students need to have structure in their classrooms and with efficient classroom management it can only benefit the child. Saylor also mentions that good classroom management ties in with being a good role model for your students. I agree with this statement, especially for teachers teaching younger students. Younger children are very impressionable, so it is up to us to show them the way to success. 

My experiences with blogging have been somewhat short. I did not know how easy of a process it was to create you own blog until this year. I have thought that creating my own blogs has been a fun experience and is something that I will use in the future.

Cyber-Bullying Awareness in Education

Many states do not have specific laws on cyberbullying, despite it being a growing problem. According to the article from the Eluna Network by Tulane University School of Social Work, Cyber-bullying Awareness, researchers have found that around one in three students experience bullying throughout their academic year. Only 15% of those students admit to being cyberbullied. They also found that 70% of students in K-12 have witnessed cyberbullying take place in some form or fashion. Female students are twice as likely to be the victims of cyber bullying. Both boys and girls are unfortunately the victims and targets of cyber bullying and the ones that being bullies themselves are regularly victimizing other people online. Cyber-bullying is important to bring awareness too because it also affects student's mental health as well. Cyber-bullying can make anxiety and depression more likely to develop in students which can affect their academic performance and of course their overall well-being. There are many types of cyber-bullying: social media bullying, harassment, flaming, and exclusion. Thankfully, there are many resources for students who feel like they have been a victim of cyber-bullying. Students are able to contact school counselors and therapists. They are also able to contact their teachers and principles for help as well. 

Woman looking distressed while at
 her computer.

Thankfully, I have never encountered any serious form of cyber-bullying before in my life. However, I have witnessed it amongst my friends and classmates. From what I have personally experienced is that cyber-bullying is just as powerful as in person bullying. It can stay with a person their whole lives. I believe that cyber-bullying should be talked about more and there should be more awareness about the topic. The sooner students are aware of the topic, the sooner they are able to understand what it can do to a person and understand what they are able to do if they ever encounter it.

The Impact of Virtual Schooling

 Virtual Schooling became prominent during the recent years of the pandemic. It has affected students learning in a multitude of ways both positive and negative. According to the article How Does Virtual Learning Impact Students in Higher Education? by the Bay Atlantic University, the main advantage of virtual learning is that it, "enhances students’ perception, communication, educational quality, and critical thinking and creates a sense of student independence". Virtual learning is an efficient way of learning. Meaning that students can easily find their materials and their books with ease. Online school is also very accessible. Students and teachers can begin their classroom almost anywhere. Virtual learning has also proved to increase student's attendance because of how flexible it can be. There are also negatives to virtual learning. Some students have expressed the feeling of isolation with online school. Communicating through a screen is not the same as communicating face to face with people. Another con would be the amount of screen time the person is being exposed too. Some classes can last well over an hour and that can be a lot of screen time having multiple classes. There is also the undeniable instances of technology issues that can come up. Overall, there are positives and negatives to virtual learning.

Girl doing schoolwork sitting in front of a computer.

Personally, I have always enjoyed virtual learning. I am more on the shyer side and I tend to not be as outgoing as some people. Virtual learning helps me in this way because it relieves some of the pressure of having to socially interact with people right off the bat. I have also enjoyed it with how convenient it is. I am able to attend class wherever I choose. The only negative that has affected me would be that it has impacted my ability to make friends. My first two years of college were mostly online and I hindered in that area greatly. It was just hard to make a lot of friends and communicate with your peers like how you would in person.

Mental Health Awareness in Education

Mental health awareness in schools has become an important topic for educators. Educators being aware of their student's current mental health status is important. Teachers are able to acknowledge when one of their students are acting different or their behavior is slightly off. This is when the teachers capabilities come into play. Teachers have so many resources to get their students the help they deserve. An example of this would be Nancy Barile explaining one of her experiences with her student in her article The Importance of Mental Health Awareness in Schools. She goes onto to discuss how she noticed one of her student's behavior changing. Nancy had mental health training and was able to notice the signs of her student being in trouble. She was able to get in touch with social workers at her school and get the help her student needed. Her student was able to be treated and returned to school a few months later ready to continue learning. One in five people live with some sort of mental illness. Since students spend majority of their days in school, educators should hold themselves accountable for being an easily accessible resource for help for their students. Until the importance of mental health in schools becomes a mandatory thing, the only thing we can do now is continue to spread awareness. Eliminate the stigma and let our students know that it is okay to ask for help. 

Woman looking overwhelmed while doing
school work with her head in her hands.

I think that mental health is something that is just as important, if not more important than physical health. It should be talked about and advocated for more. People need to know that they are not alone. For some students, just having a teacher or a counselor letting them know that they are there for them could make a huge difference. Sometimes, people just need to feel heard and understood. Mental health awareness in schools will allow that to happen. Personally I witnessed and experienced some hardships during the time I was in high school. I never felt like I was able to talk to my counselor or my teacher whenever I wanted to about the things that were on my mind. I think that if students felt like they had that option, it would allow for many of them to feel like they are not alone. If teachers were able to be trained to know when their students are in distress, it could save lives. It could prevent their situations from worsening and allow them to get the treatment they need.