Saturday, December 31, 2011

BIC = Butt In Chair

Six months ago I promised myself, teachers, and students that I would start blogging again. And I really tried. I wrote the word “blog” at the top of every to-do-list. While lying in bed at night I promised myself that tomorrow wouldn’t be as busy and promised to blog right after the kids got on the bus. I even scheduled “blog due dates” on my calendar. Nothing seemed to get me motivated to start blogging again.

Today is New Year’s Eve, so of course I needed to take a nap so I could stay up until 12:00 A.M. to welcome in the New Year. Upon waking up from my nap I started to think of New Year’s resolutions and the verb, BLOG, hit me right in the chest. I continued to lie in bed and wrestle with the reasons why I had been avoiding blogging and weighing them with the benefits of starting again. Daily excuses included: “My life is too busy to blog, I’m not creative enough to write a blog, or I don’t know what to blog about.”

I was shocked to discover the words I heard were the same ones my students use when it comes to reading. Many of my students are alliterate, which means they are able to read yet choose not to. They say, “My life is too busy to read, I fall asleep when I read, or I am not smart enough to remember what I read so why bother.”

Kelly Gallagher, an author of adolecent literacy books for teachers, tells his high school students they actually love to read, they just haven't realized it yet. Each semester I challenge my students to “fake it till they make it.” I tell them to just BIC, put your “butt in the chair” and open the book. Read one paragraph and then go do something else. Come back and read the next paragraph. Keep doing this until the page is finished. Before they know it, they can read for 20 minutes without a break, then a whole chapter. I live for the day when they post comments on facebook about how reading isn’t so bad anymore or they actually look forward to reading and learning in a quiet environment.

This brings me back to my own avoidance of blogging. I am going to put my own advice to work for me. I am going to “fake it till I make it” and make sure I BIC, put my butt in the chair and type. And Kelly, I may end up loving blogging, I just haven’t realized it yet!

To 2012: May my blogs give you ideas, make you laugh and stretch your thinking. Thank you for taking the journey with me. I look forward to your questions and comments about your school adventures. Happy New Year!

2 comments:

  1. Glad to see you placed your BIC! That's at least half of the battle.

    As for blog ideas, after blogging for more than 6 years it's been my experience that the ideas ebb and flow. On a day when your brain is firing on all cylinders make a rough list of ideas and inspirations for blog topics. Then on the day when you're not quite sure what to write about you can consult the list for a focal point for the day. Happy blogging!

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  2. Thank you for your blog suggestions! I have experienced those days when my brain was on fire, I couldn't type fast enough. I will definitely use your suggestion to write down a rough list of ideas for writer's block days.

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