I'd love a couple relective GUEST BLOGGERS! Can't we all be writers, too? Suggestions below.

I know some of you HAVE to love to write!!!  What is going through your midsummer mind about teaching English, working with AP, personal reading, professional reading, writing that novel, philosophy of teaching English? If you are writing a novel or book, I'd love to hear about it! If you hate that you can't stop thinking about school, why do you do that? Write about it!  Use YOUR voice, etc. Just maybe 300-700 words--a rant, a reflection, some wisdom?

On some posts I get 2,000 views (16,000 in all so far) and on others (like my last one) about 60! But that doesn't really matter. It's that we're offering ideas and some people are looking and hopefully getting something out of it. Most of the articles in the last few English Journal publications were written most by professors and assistant professors about teaching hs/ms English. How about our own voices?

SUGGESTIONS....

1. Maybe you feel everything has been taught or written about before but "freshness is still possible." How do you keep something FRESH--what are new twists on any idea you'd like to share?  

2.  Some teachers choose to teach the SAME curriculum the SAME way every year. Of course, this is a time saver--and if it's awesome why change it? How do you feel about stability or mixing things up?  Those in a controlled curriculum, is there anyway to make it personal?

3.  One of the writers mentioned that we "write around loneliness, guilt, shame, failure, and disloyalty"-we do it to better avoid them instead of staring them in the face. Be bold! Can we give our authentic experiences and interests a structure and meaning  through controlling the narrative a bit?  Connect this to anything education and write.

4.  Write about whatever you want!! I will read it, give you feedback, and discuss if you want to be part of a guest blog posting! 

Who will see your writing? I put all my blogs on English teacher facebook sites: shout out to AP Lang and Comp, AP Lit and Comp, New Teachers of AP Lit and Comp. Teachers of High School English and High School English and Literature Teachers and one cool site from the UK! I am usually the only one with new posts on the one for those across the pond. They don't censor me. And  on stats, I get some hits from UK--if you are reading this, HELLO from Iowa in the Midwestern US! 

When students and I meet up in about four weeks, I feel I'll have some fresher fodder again for my blog posts. My summer is more about nurturing myself as both reader and writier and gardener and person who doesn't grade/work). So I write about movies like GENIUS (which was great), or books I'm reading or books I'm not finishing!  Thanks to those who have peeked at those! 

PLEASE ---contact me if you'd like to share sone writing with me! Philosophical is great but so is humorous and experience-based! Write on! (Sorry)

I promise not to share ANYTHING before getting back to you for final permission. I have been a peer editor for EJ, and if you should submit there I'll let you know how I got my writings in.