Why a blog-- what do I really have to say?

This is my fifth year of teaching... and the fifth year I have told myself I was going to try to journal and keep track of my "adventures in teaching." A recent set of technology workshops I have attended has posed the challenge of creating a blog, responding to blogs; and what better chance to start my five-year long process.

My hope is the start a dialogue with current teachers and those considering the field of education. The economy is not very teacher friendly right now in my home state of Michigan-- a stat on the news today said that 75% of this years graduates obtaining teaching certificates will be leaving the state to find a full time teaching job. How sad... :( There's also the disheartening statistics about how many teachers leave the field within the first three years.

I'm not going to try to make the job sound perfect-- there are ridiculous amounts of pressures and stress. And no corporate world-- the June/July/August reasoning doesn't work-- we work long hours, take hours of work home, and pay for our own professional development (which isn't optional), and are somewhat underpaid compared with many corporate types with the same or less education. My purpose here is to enlighten, and encourage people who love helping inspire, and who want to make a positive difference to many wonderful young people.

That's it for now-- I have to rest up for the little gremlins tomorrow.