Authority

Here is a post that I like, on the blog, Weblogg-ed, authored by Will Richardson.

Will wonders why many teachers have difficulty producing online content, such as blogs. He suggests that it is not a technical deficiency; but rather, social hesitancy that inhibits teachers.

It’s not the technology, we both agreed, as much as it is the shifts in transparency and privacy, and the emphasis on writing and creating that go along with putting yourself out there online.

To be sure, I sometimes feel insecure when I post something on this blog. Did I say something stupid? Did I make spelling or grammatical errors? Did I reveal a personal weakness?

I think one of the best reasons for teachers to maintain blogs is that it allows us to experience firsthand the various inhibitions that accompany producing and publishing.

The Web and the social connections and learning it affords is moving us, I think, to a different type of consciousness, a different way of being in the world. While the way we interact with people in our personal spaces will always be crucial to our personal development and well being, we are in many ways being asked to recreate ourselves in virtual spaces, sometimes multiple spaces. And we’re being asked to do that work in public with others. I happened upon this old Doc Searles quote this morning, and it made even more sense than it did two years ago when I first read it:

“We are all authors of each other. What we call authority is the right we give others to author us, to make us who we are… That right is one we no longer give only to our newspapers, our magazines, our TV and radio stations. We give it to anybody who helps us learn and understand What’s Going On in the world."

I like this Doc Searles quote. Authority is the power we give certain people to "write" who we are. This is tantamount to the psychoanalytical concept of introjection, which suggests that the ego is essentially a photocopied compilation of the many people with whom we have interacted in our lifetime.

Finally, a comment left by Salamah, I found interesting. He laments that he is a new teacher and that he feels he has nothing new to contribute to a blog or Twitter.

I felt the same way. I have taught for over 6 years, but I still consider myself a new teacher; especially, when it comes to ICT. Sometimes, I feel like I do not have any spectacular knowledge to contribute. However, I have come to realize that this is not the purpose of blogging or tweeting. Blogging is like a diary. It is a place for me to organize and crystalize some of my thoughts.

Having tried Twitter for a few weeks, I can say that I am sold. It is a great source of information, and dare I say, entertaining. People are constantly posting links to useful sites.

Whether I have Twitter followers, or whether people read this blog, I will continue to write, for my own benefit. That being said, it is gratifying to have followers and to notice that people have visited my blog.

Photo by shoothead.