Jim Burke: The English Teacher's Companion

As I looked through the extensive lists of recommended blogs, I decided I wanted something that related to my own experiences and field of concentration. With experience as a high school english teacher and a concentration in secondary english, it was easy to choose. I chose "Jim Burke: The English Teacher's Companion". I already knew the name because of Professor Winslow mentioning Mr. Burke as a "must read" in our first Reading/Writing class.

As I have read through Mr. Burke's blog, I have already found posts and ideas that are both practical and helpful. For instance, his latest post deals with happiness as it relates to education and raising children. As educators, we often struggle to find answers. We want to solve problems regarding students and even our own lives. Burke points out many alternate points of view before coming to his own. He says:

"Dealt the brain we are, born into the family we are, into the era and culture we can only claim as our own, we must make our own way forward, becoming as Hesse's Siddhartha says, our own teachers, taking from those we meet along the way what words, what wisdom will help us make sense of the world and find our place and purpose in that world." (http://jimburke.typepad.com/, Jan 23,2011)

We spend so much time as a society complaining about different generations, particularly how technology has affected youth in a negative way. While I am only 27 years old, I have seen how kids are more reluctant to pick up a book than a computer, and it has frustrated me. But I think what Burke is talking about here is embracing our society and culture. For instance, instead of cursing technology, learn how to use it. While I understand how to use a certain amount of technology and have grown up with the internet, I am looking forward to learning more. I feel that it can be used as a bridge between what I want to accomplish as an english teacher and the different generations of students I will teach in the future.