Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Talking to Each Other, Talking To Myself

Hello! How do you do? Welcome to my blog, I am delighted you have found it. I am amazed that you have found it. Wait! Don’t leave. Stick around and see if something interests you. I am hopeful that this blog will be an opportunity for us to converse about the challenges of raising kids, being good neighbors and navigating a world where the issues are never as clear as they appear on the evening news.

Who am I that you should read what I have to say? I am the parent of a teen and a preteen who are teaching me new lessons daily. I am a high school English teacher. I have been teaching since the early ‘80s and, for the past ten years, I have balanced these two important responsibilities by being a full time dad and a part time teacher. I am also a Sunday School teacher, an officer in my local neighborhood association and an active leader in my congregation.

I am writing this blog to explore the issues that only sometimes make headlines. I want to discuss how we navigate in new and uncharted waters. As I move through my community, I find that, because I am both in the school and in the parent pick-up line, I have a different perspective on many of these issues. Whether discussing over programmed children, substance issues, civility, parenting styles, religion or taxes, I see things from many points of view. It is my goal to explore those views and issues here.

I write to explore my own thoughts. I write to help me understand a complex world. I write to exchange ideas with people interested in dialogue. So I invite you to make this blog yours as well. In many ways, it is like my classroom; we will learn together.

Since this blog is not my primary focus, I will do my best to add an entry or two each month. I will write more, if I my schedule allows. Feel free to post comments, questions, suggestions and additions to each of my postings.

I am a participant on Facebook and Twitter and you may certainly contact me through those networks. Please feel free to get in touch with me.

Finally, be patient with me. Writing a blog is new to me. For those of you who have done this before, I thank you in advance for sharing your wisdom. I do not anticipate that there will be many people actively reading this blog and I am well aware that I am talking to myself most of the time. So, dear reader, I am especially grateful that you are generously giving me some of your time and attention. I promise to work hard to deserve it.