Blogger teachers speak out of turn

Posted by Budi Putra on September 17th, 2006 filed in Blog, Bloggers, Blogging, Blogs, Internet, Tech, Weblog, Weblogs

When the fed-up young teacher decided to quit her job in rural North Carolina in June, her resignation letter was brief — three lines. But she had more to say.

So she spoke her mind online, in an anonymous, 1,000-word Internet posting. Although all names, including those of the school and city, were withheld, the letter was widely read.
For three years, the thirtysomething teacher had been writing a popular Internet weblog, or blog, under the pseudonym First Year Teacher.

She’s one of hundreds of teachers who blog these days, uploading details from their daily lives for a firsthand look at the maddening, exhilarating, often heartbreaking world of the modern public school. Read more

POPULAR TEACHER BLOGS

As USAToday.com reported, here’s a list of popular teacher blogs from around the U.S.:

First Year Teacher (http://firstyearteacher.blogspot.com/). Written by a 30-something female English teacher in rural North Carolina who provides a classroom journal; she recently moved to Oregon to teach.

What It’s Like on the Inside (http://whatitslikeontheinside.blogspot.com/). Written by a 36-year-old blogger in Washington state who calls herself The Science Goddess.

History is Elementary (http://historyiselementary.blogspot.com/). Written by 44-year-old Atlanta teacher Lisa Cooper, who calls herself elementaryhistoryteacher.

Shut Up and Teach (http://www.shutupandteach.org/blog.shtml). Written by 37-year-old Joe Thomas, a high school history and government teacher in Mesa, Ariz.

folkbum’s rambles and rants (http://folkbum.blogspot.com/). Written by 31-year-old Jay Bullock, a Milwaukee English, who writes the blog to defend public education.

NYC Educator (http://nyceducator.blogspot.com/). Written anonymously by a veteran high school English teacher in Queens, N.Y., who focuses on school district, union and national issues.

Get Lost, Mr. Chips (http://teachersparadise.blogspot.com/). Written by 25-year-old Matt Lotti, a substitute teacher in Lehigh Valley, Pa. He offers a glimpse inside the many schools in which he works.

From the Trenches of Public Ed. (http://publiceducationdefender.blogspot.com/). Written by 55-year-old Dennis Fermoyle, a Warroad , Minn., history teacher, mostly to defend public education.

Ms. Frizzle (http://msfrizzle.blogspot.com/). Written anonymously by a 28-year-old science teacher in “a small public middle school in the Bronx.”

A Shrewdness of Apes (http://shrewdnessofapes.blogspot.com/) Written anonymously by an “American public high school teacher, guitar goddess, black belt, softball jockette, working mom, exhausted wife, dutiful daughter, bibliophile, autodidact, and terrible housekeeper.”

Joanne Jacobs (http://www.joannejacobs.com/) Written by a former Knight Ridder columnist who now freelances; Jacobs is the author of the 2005 book Our School: The Inspiring Story of Two Teachers, One Big Idea and the School That Beat the Odds.

from the t.f.a.trenches (http://thetrenches.blogspot.com/). Written anonymously by a Teach for America (TFA) corps member in the prestigious teacher preparation program.

Mr. Babylon (http://hombreblanco.blogspot.com/). Written anonymously by a Bronx high school English as a Second Language teacher who calls his school “Shitty High School.”

Eponymous Educator (http://eponymouseducator.blogspot.com/). A news blog written by a student teacher pursuing a master’s degree who is now “knee deep in research for my Ph.D.”

The Education Wonks (http://educationwonk.blogspot.com/). A education news blog that regularly compiles the best examples of teachers’ blogs.