Conversation

I have spent a majority of my professional life as a high school English educator. This was the routine for quite some time. Overworked. Overtired. Overwhelmed.

For a variety of reasons, I decided to pursue my Ph.D at UW - Madison in Curriculum and Instruction emphasizing in Multicultural Education.

One of the issues that I've always had with "Institutions of Higher Learning" is the propensity for the hypereducated to become lost in theory and lose sight of what the day-to-day grind is like. This is something that while, perhaps understandable, is not useful.

And of what use is knowledge if there is no practical application?

So, now I'm both a professional educator and a professional learner. I'm in between as so many teachers are. Being a teacher is a Both/And experience. Both teacher and student. Educator and Parent. And so on. It's often a difficult thing to navigate. Hence the name: Borderlands.

So, in an effort to help make sense of and balance theory and pragmatism, I thought I would create a "Third Space" like a digital "Cheers!" for educators to kick around ideas and discuss what's important to them and what they see. Both as students and as teachers.

Many of my friends are teachers. I'm meeting more and more folks who are crazy smart and full of fantastic ideas. I hope that this can become a place where we can share, commiserate, and create, but it's dependent on conversation.

I don't want to have a space where I rant. I don't have the time, nor do I have the energy. I want to put ideas out there and hear from real teachers who are interested in bettering their craft. So I'll do my best to bring what I'm hearing, reading and learning to the floor and let folks discuss it.

While there's never an easy answer and never time enough, it's good to know you're not alone.

MBD