At the beginning of the school year, with my room torn apart from air conditioner installation, 800+ passwords to get students to change and setup, and a 40 minute commute to work both ways, stress is an issue that I’ve come to know most intimately.
However, it’s been nice to have some familiar voices with me, or rather, coming from my radio, during the morning drive. I periodically download and listen to the Geek-Ed! gang that podcast out of Pinckney, MI. Each week during the school year, and every other week in the summer, a group of humorous, technologically-gifted, and very wise educators get together during their lunch hour to chat about technology, education, and everything that may swirl out of such a discussion.
Their podcast usually runs anywhere from 30 to 50 minutes, so it’s perfect for a quick listen without having to invest too much time, which is great on a 40 minute commute. They’re an incredibly like-able bunch, with plenty of humor thrown into each conversation, as well as some pretty thought-provoking and eye-opening discussions. Just because we’re Midwesterners doesn’t mean that we can’t be as thoughtful, profound, and articulate as the East and West coasters 🙂
P.S. No, I didn’t pass away, retire, and/or have a nervous break down over the summer. I just took some great advice from a fellow blogger and online friend about unplugging myself for awhile.
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Ben,
Welcome back! It may be soon after your return from a hiatus from blogging to consider this, but I wanted to ask you anyway.
I’m writing to all the blogs that are on my blogroll. I’d like to invite you to consider sending in a post from your blog that has appeared within the past few months (even Spring), or that you will be writing in September, for inclusion in an ESL “Carnival” that I’m hosting.
You probably know already that a Carnival is basically a collection of posts from various blogs on a selected topic. All you have to do is pick a post you’ve written sometime over the past few months or one that you will write in September that you think is particularly insightul or helpful and that’s related to teaching English Language Learners. Send the link to me by Sept. 30th and I’ll post the collection shortly thereafter.
If there’s interest, it could continue monthly or quarterly, each time hosted by a different blog.
Here’s a post I’ve written announcing it:
http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2007/09/06/lets-start-an-esl-carnival/
And here’s a link to a recent “Carnival of Education” to give you an idea of what a Carnival might look like:
http://educationwonk.blogspot.com/2007/09/carnival-of-education-week-135.html
Larry Ferlazzo