Two Years and Still Blogging: Fall 2011 Brings Ripe New Crop of Bloggers to the Marquette Educator

By Lori Fredrich — On August 6th, 2009, Marquette College of Education Dean Bill Henk published his first blog post — with a confession.

The inaugural Marquette Educator post detailed how young Bill made a daring escape from the classroom on his first day of school and “put the fear of God” in his teacher. But despite that inauspicious start, he wrote, he began a “love affair with education.”

That blog set the tone for his subsequent writing, which has both tackled weighty education issues like school choice and schoolyard bullying, and also given an honest and rare glimpse into the passions, fears, and personal life of a college leader.

Since 2009, the Marquette Educator blog has grown to include a cacophony of voices — students, alumni, community leaders, and award-winning educators.  The site has received more than 150,000 visitors, and engaged students and alumni on an intimate level that would have been difficult to achieve without the widespread reach of such an online presence. In short, blogging has become a vital communication tool for the college.

This fall, as the Marquette Educator enters its third year, I’m pleased to announce that we’ll be operating with a full complement of bloggers who will share their stories with you six days a week starting next week.

• Mondays:  You’ll be able to read posts from the Wisconsin Teachers of the Year — Maureen Look-Ainsworth, Claudia Felske, and Peggy Wuenstel  These Marquette alums will share their wisdom on a variety of topics including how to bring new life to your classroom.
• Tuesdays:  You can continue to win fun prizes through participation in Tuesday Trivia as well as a variety of new campus-based activities, like Marquette scavenger hunts.
• Wednesdays: We’ll be featuring the writing of two first-year teacher bloggers, Colleen Ryan and Stephanie Rappe, who will write about their adventures in the classroom.  Every other week, you’ll also hear from either Trudi Arnold or Johnathon Sumpter, counseling bloggers who will be writing about their experiences in both the classroom and the field.
• Thursdays:  You can read the ever-popular posts by College of Education Dean, Dr. Bill Henk
• Fridays: You can stay tuned for posts from Marquette alums, Nick McDaniels (a high school teacher in Baltimore, MD) and Ryan Manning (a student affairs professional living in Boston).
• And every other Saturday, you can share in the adventures of first-year Counseling student, Sabrina Bong.

For more information on these new bloggers, check out their photos and bios on our “Now Blogging…” page.  And stay tuned for another great semester on the blog.

BTW, if you enjoy reading our blog posts, we’d like to encourage you to sign up for the Marquette Educator’s weekly email digest.  Just one extra email a week and you’ll keep up with all the great posts by your fellow students, faculty, alumni, and community members.

SIGN UP HERE!