Learning the Blogosphere

As a career educator/coach, I've found it's one thing to have 32 years of experience or 1 year of experience 32 times. I firmly believe you shouldn't be working with kids if you can't maintain a 'fresh' perspective, and you can't do that effectively unless you continually re-fresh yourself one way or another. That doesn't mean you continually have to reinvent the wheel, particularly if you have effective methodology that works in the classroom, but if we expect out kids to be open to new ideas and learning, we have to be, too.
One way is to continue look to dialogue with other professionals on a regular basis. High school teaching, in particular, favors a semi-monastic lifestyle, where we are often sequestered away with our kids, only, day after day (the autonomous, sub-contractor: it's been said by one professional teaching is the SECOND most private act adults participate in...and, no, I won't go there if you want my guess at the first).
This is one reason I'm excited at the possibilities of blogging, and grateful for leads by people like Darren Draper. As a gifted educator himself, he also, with others, realizes education is changing, and one way to refresh ourselves is to insure we continue to change, as well.
My Master's degree was in the Psycho-Social Aspects of Children in Sport (I know, I know, quite a mouthful, but, hey, I'm a coach, too...). I had to spend a lot of time studying a lot of kids activities aside from my area of expertise, which is swimming. I remember watching a very gifted 'little-league' football coach/teacher (yes, they're one and the same) working with 9-10 year old kids one time, and this coach required all his players rotate positions on a regular basis so everyone of them had a chance to carry the ball. His enthusiasm in this philosophy was reflected one morning as one of his charges was running an end sweep, carrying the ball, tongue hanging out, too large helmet swiveled around on his head so he was peering out the ear hole (they had to use hand-me-down equipment from the high school program). 'Coach' elbowed me, nearly knocking me down (and I'm a big guy), yelling, "Look at that kid! The possibilities are endless!!"
Indeed...the possibilities ARE endless.