Reflections on My 200th InterACT Blog Post
NOVEMBER 17, 2013
The original InterACT banner – a view from the Santa Monica Pier ferris wheel, looking north. I liked the “interaction” of sky, mountains, surf and sand. (photo by the author)
When I started blogging as part of my work at Accomplished California Teachers, I was just figuring out what I wanted to write about, how to use WordPress, and I don’t think reaching any milestones even crossed my mind. Publishing my 200th blog post today has me in a reflective mood, and rather than take on any particular issue today, I’m going to offer up some thoughts about what I’ve posted at this site over the years, and why I’d recommend blogging to more teachers.
I’ve gradually realized something that I don’t like to admit, which is that the balance of my posts have veered from the original purpose of the blog. The idea behind InterACT was to offer a classroom-based perspective on education policy, with the hope that readers would better understand how decisions that occur far from our schools have a noticeable impact on teaching and learning. With that understanding, all stakeholders would be in a better position to advocate for or create better policies that truly support students. And while I’ve frequently noted in my work that I am a teacher, I haven’t really helped readers see into my school or classroom all that frequently. There are two posts that come to mind right away where I think I used that school perspective well – a post on improvisation in teaching, and a reflection on