Blogging makes me a better teacher. It’s clearly not the only thing that makes me a better teacher, but it is a tremendous benefit.

This is the second installment in my series on 10 Things I Wish I Knew As A First Year Teacher.

I have previously written on this subject back in January (8 Ways Blogging Makes Me A Better Teacher). At the time, I was in the midst of dealing with a medical emergency. The other band director I work with had a stroke in December and was actually out for over three months. That was back when I had 146 blog subscribers, by the way. Currently I the blog is approaching 450.

The benefits for me about blogging from that list are:

1. Self-Reflection
2. Storytelling
3. Presentation
4. Marketing
5. Problem-Solving
6. Networking
7. Entertainment
8. Comments

More information can be found in the original article. These are great things. Especially the story-telling. Even if you never ever teach again, the ability to craft a great story is universally appreciated. Think about how many simply bad storytellers you know!

How do I start up a blog?
I have started an as-yet unfinished project called The Blog Revolution Project. In that first article, I go through the steps for starting up a blog of your own.

So here’s where we hear from the readers. What are some of the advantages to having a blog that you have found that I overlooked.

Total Teacher Transformation: Hope For All Teachers
07-08: What Worked Well
Total Teacher Transformation Begins

Joel Wagner

Joel Wagner (@sywtt) began teaching band in 2002. Though he had a lot of information, his classes were out of control. He found himself tired, frustrated, disrespected by students, lonely, and on the brink of quitting. He had had enough. He resigned from his school district right before spring break of his second year and made it his personal mission to learn to be a great teacher. So You Want To Teach? is the ongoing story of that quest for educational excellence.