Dear Kid That Wonders "Why are you blogging?"

I have stared many blogs in my time. My first blog, started way back in 2008, lasted for roughly two posts. Anywhere from six to twenty blogs followed, all with limited productivity and zero longevity.

As I was preparing to teach my classes how to blog, I knew I would have to start a new one and ACTUALLY keep blogging. I have been reading numerous blogs each day for years now, I have attended classes on the pedagogy of blogging, and I have followed about a million "Blogging in the Classroom" links, so I feel well versed in science of blogging. To really teach something, however, you should be able to do it yourself. 

To prepare for this I thought back to my previous attempts and tried to figure out why they failed. Here is a brief list:

1. Lack of Purpose- My initial attempts consisted of creating a blog, writing a few ill-thought-out posts, growing bored and ditching the thing. Without an overarching topic other than "things I'm thinking about that day" coming up with fresh posts was daunting.                                                                                                                 
2. No Audience- All of these wonderful blogs I started and orphaned lay scattered about the internet, homeless and invisible. I never let anyone know I was blogging, so the only people who read what I was writing were random strangers who somehow fell into a Google wormhole and found one of them. This is not necessarily a bad thing; having a private blog to write down your thoughts and feelings in an unfiltered way can be quite useful and cathartic. Unfortunately, keeping your motivation high is difficult without accountability.                                                    
3. No Time- This is the same excuse I have for not working out, learning Spanish, and cleaning up my Man Cave. 

How to tackle these three issues in one fell swoop? Blogging with my students! While they are writing about whatever moves them, I will be writing here. I hope that we will all have time in class each week to work on and share our blogs. This blog is going to work where the others failed.

NOTE: If you are reading this six months from now, and it is the only post on this blog, kindly find me and kick me in the butt. 

******UPDATE: I did manage two posts, but still required a butt kicking.