Tool #2: Community...in. Cadre...out.

Despite my initial crankiness, I am now getting excited. In the six years (SIX...can you believe it??) I have been in my current role, I have always wanted to create a math committee (or cadre) for my campus. People in education are in love with the word "cadre." Personally, I hate that word. It sounds so harsh and makes me think of an armed militia.

Anyway...I digress. In those six years, I haven't pursued a math committee because of the incredible time demands on teachers. Because of that, I think we have lost many opportunities to build a community of math teachers and learners. I really feel that a campus math instruction blog could be an incredible resource for our campus. There are so many fabulous ideas out there, but our time is so limited that we often miss out on those synergies we could create with more collaboration. A blog offers so much that a committee with scheduled meetings does not. It's ongoing, open to everyone, and online commenting offers a certain degree of comfort that people often lose when speaking in person. I now really want to create a blog for that purpose and get it rolling.

I think the thing that most struck me as I read about effective commenting is to keep it conversational. Acknowledging commenters and asking questions can do a great deal to keep the conversation going.

I have now commented on Maria's Modern Life, Beth's Blog, Number Antics, Coyne's Cool Kids, and Live 2 Learn & Learn 2 Live. I have also commented on my own blog. Do I get extra credit?