Why This, Why Now?

Blogging.  What was I thinking?  I barely have time to take a shower.  You see, I have two children, ages 2 and 10 months respectively, and a wife that works a very demanding schedule.  My summer vacation schedule consists of early morning wake-ups, chasing two kids around the house, fighting my daughter for the iPad to check blogs and Twitter, cooking and cleaning.  I wouldn't change a thing. But blogging?  Where is that time going to come from?

Since I started teaching 7 years ago, I have been experimenting with different ways to reach students and make their learning stick.  I don't thing I have presented a concept the same way twice, and I only pass out textbooks because it would be frowned upon if I didn't.  I have read a lot of articles, spent countless hours scouring the internet for ideas that fit with my philosophy, and enrolled in various graduate classes searching for a way to cultivate my "style."  Nothing ever felt quite right.  Then I went to the NCTM National Conference in Philadelphia.

I sat through plenty of so-so presenters, waiting for the one presentation that would give me the "aha moment" I had been so desperately craving.  While on the escalator heading to another presentation I picked by title alone, I overheard another conference-goer talking on his cell phone about this awesome presenter who he just had to go see.  My curiosity piqued, and I decided to walk into an unplanned session.  From that moment on, my views about teaching and math education were changed forever.

The presenter was Dan Meyer.  His presentation on why word problems are failing students opened my eyes to how I had been approaching my math curriculum.  I was so excited and interested in his ideas that I threw myself head first into his blog and other progressive educator's blogs that shared his passion and vision.  I had never realized the professional learning community I could develop and become part of just by dusting off my Google Reader and firing up a Twitter account (@absvalteaching).  Since the NCTM conference and Dan's presentation, I have been like a kid in a candy shop.  I will elaborate more on the great educators I have found in future posts.

So why blogging?  It seems that the benefits derived from blogging far outweigh the time I have to find to actually do the blogging.  Besides being able to share my views on this crazy world we call education with others and receiving their constructive criticism, I intend to use this forum as a public form of self-reflection.  I have been wanting to get this blog underway for a few months now, but honestly, like Jeff de Varona, I put it off until I came up with a clever name.  So now, here it is, in all its glory.