Written Composition

         I have been blogging for over seven years as a way of personal expression but without a clear focus. I wrote about things that struck my fancy and the topics varied (vary) widely.

         A couple of years ago, I coordinated a topical blog for an organization with which I was affiliated. With various contributors as part of that blog, I discovered the benefits that come with a targeted audience and shared responsibility. Even after leaving that organization, I continue a new personal blog focused on the same topic and have found a contributor friend to join me on it.

         Now, with this second topical blog – professionally related – I continue that habit.

         One thing I also continue is the habit of frequently writing the first draft of posts in a composition book before typing it and putting it online. Despite being a self-described tech-geek, the feel of pen on paper and the slow process that comes through handwriting my thoughts on paper, there is something comfortable about writing in an old-fashioned way. Handwriting the post also ensures it will go through at least one round of editing before everyone else sees it.

         Maybe it is the former English teacher in me.

         Maybe it is a remnant of my true generation.

         Whatever the reason behind preferring to write the original draft on paper, for me, it proves an effective means for gathering and clarifying my thoughts. Although technology for composition has become ubiquitous, it rarely provides a forum to quickly record my stream-of-consciousness regarding a topic on my mind the way colored ink and a blank page do.

         Some pages in the composition book are merely webbed thoughts and bullet-point notes. I can expand them into a clear narrative or build and essay from some of the ideas.

Or I can abandon it as a passing fancy I do not care that much about.

I have also never had a pen and paper fail me on a primitive camping trip or during an afternoon in a hunting blind.

One never knows when inspiration will strike.

As I encourage my peers to being their own professional blog, I encourage them to write as make them comfortable. One professional blogger I follow recently commented on the courage it takes to put a professional perspective out in a public forum for anyone to critique. I appreciated that suggestion because it does take some confidence in one’s professional expertise to say what one thinks in a public forum.

My personal blog frequently serves as my own stand-up routine.

My other topical blog represents my lay-theology.

And now here I am willing to put out ideas that sometime challenge conventional thinking because I work in a conventional system that has failed students for years – and continues to fail students because we keep doing the same things that do not work. I know I am not the only one seeking different ways to do things.

Because I hear good ideas for my friends, I encourage them and all professionals to put the good ideas out there. As I have said before, professionals in the field have the best ideas for improving the field. Write, comment, and join the conversation. Essays rarely are anyone’s favorite chore, but there are so many good ideas that need to be shared – grab a handful of courage and put it out there. Written compositions still carry weight - whether in a composition book or on a computer screen. Join me in the thrill that comes from the scratch of metal on paper and the muted clack that comes from computer keys.