When I was in school, I never saw the word Blog/Blogging on my list of verbs to know. Today, this word is a permanent fixture in our daily culture. In fact, it was voted as the top word of 2004 by Merriam-Webster. The premise of blogging made its way to the big screen in the Julie/Julia project, a character in a Twix commercial uses blogging to impress a date, and common ways to end an advertisement or tv show is "Catch more information on our blog at...."
Blog writing is the casual to semi-formal dress that appears to the Writing party. It's not the one decked out in formal wear with hard to understand jargon and a train of sources following close behind and it's not the "I just rolled out of bed" outfit that arrives with serious rips and holes in the meaning and spelling. One nice thing about blogging is that the invitation to this writing party seems to be extended to anyone who can provide their own transportation to the party via the internet.
Reading a blog almost seems like eavesdropping on a private conversation, until you realize that others are waiting for you to put in your two cents! I find the comments to be just as worthwhile and even more interesting than the original piece as I did in the Great Homework Debate that Mr. Meyer posted in his approach to math homework. I was shocked to find that the blog centered around the subject of math - a subject where I would think homework would have a permanent presence. When you read Mr. Meyer's points, you aren't quite sure what to think but then you gradually form your opinion as you read all the different comments and chisel your position as you agree or disagree with those who posted. Upon further blog reading, I wonder if homework assignments are the rabbit ears drawn on top of my math box..... is it even a box anymore??
So much to think about!
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It's so true that comments can add much to any post (excluding my post here, perhaps). The "discussion" very much helps me appreciate aspects to topic that I might not have considered.
ReplyDeleteYour description of a blog paints a vivid image. Your word choice makes your blog interesting and amusing to read. Your final thoughts about "the rabbit ears drawn on top of my math box" is perplexing.
ReplyDeleteI thoroughly enjoyed reading your blog! The first impression I had was that this would be an interesting and creative one to read. The title grabbed my attention..and we know that a title should do just that. And, I enjoyed your poems too:)
ReplyDeleteI'm not so sure homework is obsolete. I do agree that we need to rethink what and why we assign as homework in a math classroom. And if we can't come up with better reasons than what Mr. Meyer argues against, then maybe yes, we should do away with homework.
ReplyDeleteOh, and rabbit ears aren't completely gone, either. They've just been upgraded.
I was taken by what you said about people's comments being often more interesting than the original post. I frequently find myself in the same position, and I've been wondering a little bit about why that is. Do I have a crazy short attention span & I prefer their brevity? I don't think that's it. I'm starting to suspect that it has something to do with the idea that the power of this whole blogging thing is that it can be a conversation of sorts, and that the responses are what define it as such, and that's why they're more significant or compelling in some ways.
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