Tags: Blogging, Classroom Management, General, Personal, Teaching

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Educators are not the most technically proficient people in the world. How many times did I have a teacher when I was in school who couldn’t operate a VCR? I happen to be an ultra nerd (I was co-president of the computer club and went to the Texas state computer programming contest when I was in high school) and so this stuff comes very easily for me.

As I look around at education blogs out there, I notice a lot of them have no customized graphics on them. I was pleasantly surprised by ms_teacher’s recent redesign of her blog. Great graphics and color scheme on there. Very classy indeed.

Free free free!
The free gift I am offering to anyone who wants to take me up on it, is a newly designed logo for your blog. I will work with your color scheme and discuss with you what specifics you would like on it. If you’d like to see a sample, I worked with Miss A on her header graphic this past summer.

What’s the catch?
The only catch is that you have to have a blog that has something to do with the field of education. You also need to be prepared to be patient. I don’t know what kind of response I will get from this, but also understand that I have an elementary tour and a Christmas concert coming up in the next month. Things may be slow, but if you send me a request, I will honor it. Eventually… :)

How do I get this free gift?
Simply leave a comment on this article letting me know you’re interested and trust that I will get it and get around to it.

What is this all worth?
I have never had any formal training in graphic arts. However, I have done extensive research on my own time about design trends and techniques. When I do graphic design on the side, I generally charge about $25 for something like this.

But what if I don’t have a blog?
If you are too scared of technology to set up a blog, I understand! You know how to turn on the computer, open up your word processor, and not mess anything up! That’s okay too. Obviously you don’t have a use for a blog header graphic. But the second free gift is perfect for you.

Now accepting guest bloggers
I have been impressed with the depth of knowledge of some of my readers this month. It strikes me that most of them have blogs that are narrative in nature rather than instructional. So You Want To Teach? offers me a chance to share my passion for classroom management with a relatively large audience. If you would like to write a guest article for me, either to try your hand at the whole blogging thing, or to take a break from blogging about your life and share some of your knowledge, the invitation is open.

Topics of articles may include:

1. Classroom management tips
2. Personal procedures for an organized classroom
3. How I motivate my students
4. What I learned about teaching in my first year (first two years, first seven years)
5. Why I quit teaching
6. Why I didn’t quit teaching
7. How I stay positive despite adversity
8. The best thing that ever happened to me as a teacher
9. Why I decided to teach
10. What book(s) have most impacted my teaching

It doesn’t have to be limited to these by any means. Be creative. These are just a handful of possible topics for you to write about.

What do I get out of it?
If you are a blogger already, you get a different audience than you normally get. At the time of this writing, FeedBurner tells me that I have 101 RSS subscribers. In addition, I have averaged over 200 page loads a day since being featured on Zen Habits six weeks ago. I’ll be hosting the Carnival of Education in a week and a half, and that too should increase readership. Basically, if you’re a blogger, it will do nothing but help you out.

If you are not a blogger, it gives you a chance to try it out. See what the writing part of this whole thing is like. If you start doing it and find that you like it, you can start a new blog with a bit of an audience already. Whatever the case, I would gladly welcome regular (or occasional) contributors, whether you have a blog or not.

On the other side of the coin, I would be glad to write articles for anyone who is interested. Email me if you are interested.

How do I sign up?
You can do it one of two ways. You could simply leave a comment here telling me you want to guest write, or you can email me at joel@soyouwanttoteach.com. You’re welcome to write an article and send it to me, or just email me for more details.

How long do I have?
As long as I run this blog, these are ongoing offers. No expiration date.

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