Writing as a way to process our experience

Despite over a decade of enthusiasm for blogging I realise that writing is not for everyone – but reflecting on our craft should be.

Writing about my reflections forces me to make sense of my ideas. When writing with an audience in mind I have to communicate my thinking in a cogent way.

Writing is a reflective catharsis.

Developing a blog post quickly became a key method for processing my classroom and leadership experience. It filters ideas and tensions, encourages critical thinking and archives my experiences. Despite writing less these days on my blog, writing is still a vital part of the way I reflect on my professional experience and adopt the attitude of dialogue.

Every week I share a little email newsletter with 3 paragraphs about ideas I am exploring or experiences in schools I have had. With over 50 issues now and hundreds of subscribers it has been another successful medium for my thinking.

Sharing reflections on a blog or in a newsletter is not just about the end result. It is not just about the published piece or the ensuing reactions and conversations. The true value is in process it takes to allow people to catch a glimpse of your thinking.

Photo by Park Troopers

Learning Networks and Professional Growth

Professional growth is not only about finding like minded people. Our professional learning networks can be built in this way, adding people from similar backgrounds or roles to our Twitter network. But that might just confirm the bias we already have.

I see great value in the exposure to alternative thinking. We gain access to perspectives that differ from our own and that may be in obvious opposition. Our social learning networks provide easy access to thinking and development from beyond the domain of education. I have deliberately built connections with practitioners in a wide variety of fields not just education.

Yes, your professional learning network should help you tap into the expertise and ideas of fellow educators. But I think the real value emerges as your network matures and you build connections far beyond the walled garden of education.

These connections challenge us to think critically about our work and what we think we know. The dissonance instigated by diversity of thought and alternative viewpoints can be a springboard to empathy.

Photo by Daniel Hjalmarsson