New starts and new ideas

Before I get into this: I am Mark Kilmer, and I teach IB English at The International School of Helsinki, and I blog at What circumspection! What delicacy of conscience! (Extra credit for anyone who knows where I got the name). Clair asked if I would like to contribute to 101 English Blogs, and I thought I would. So I am.

My idea is to look at the feed and just see what catches my eye for whatever reason. So here we go for the last few days:

• There are several new blogs just starting up or transitioning into something else. (Mine was a recent transition as well.) I'm excited to see what they turn out in the next few weeks.
• Also intriguing are the posts from folks in the southern hemisphere about the beginning of the school year (like Tam's Changes). For me, in the frozen wastelands of the second trimester, the sense of a fresh start makes me want to have that same energy I had in my second or third week. So thanks for that.
• I liked KDixon's post on an education webinar. The link was well worth watching, and I like the idea of developing my own essential questions as a learner/teacher.
• A post I'll use and apply: the SCC English post looking at political manifestos via Wordle. It's a great application of the program and allows focus on diction in a way that's accessible and authentic.