The Strange Google Searches That Have Led People to My Blog

The internet has opened up endless opportunities for connections between things. Personally, I think this is a good thing. When you get right down to it, thinking and growing is all about making those connections, about realizing how everything you do kind of intersects with everything else into your own unique mosaic.

However, sometimes it's very entertaining. I've been playing around with some of the features on Blogger, and the highlight was unquestionably seeing the Google searches that have led people to my blog.

Evidently, my attempts at finding philosophy in everyday life, of sharing my journeys as a teacher and a writer, of delving deeper than I may have intended to into my personal life ... my blog of which I am very proud ... well, it evidently all boils down to this.

“people who complain about the weather”
Yeah, okay, I talk about complaining about the weather. I even complain about the weather. Evidently more than I knew ;) I certainly wouldn't have picked it as a driving force on this blog, but there you go.

“claudia kishi's mom”
This one comes up in response to a comment posted on a piece I wrote on a local book-banning controversy. Too funny!

“christa mcauliffe technology conference”
This is a big conference for teachers in New Hampshire, actually, and I had the great honor of attending it last year. I still think it's just bizarre how a Google search for this conference ends up at my blog. Wild!

“herb hantz”
This one is really far out. I wrote a post about teachers that make a difference, and there were a lot of comments that gave the name of an inspiring educator. Herb Hantz was one of those so honored in the comments section. Small world ...

“rettop yrrah”
I got the urge to reread the Harry Potter series one day, but I couldn't find the first couple of books to save my life. HP7 was taunting me from the bookshelf, though, so I ended up reading the books in reverse order ... very cool experience. I thought I'd be clever and original by writing "Harry Potter" backwards in the blog title ... hmm, not so much, I guess.

“’apples to apples game’ philosophical”
If you haven't ever played the game Apples to Apples, you really must. I don't know that I'd term it "philosophical", but it's tons of fun.

“dark heart care bears”
So I was watching one of the old Care Bears movies with Belle, and I suddenly realized all the religious references found in the film and felt compelled to write a post about it. Interestingly, these are the search words that most commonly get hits to my blog. It's just ... mind-boggling.

“do you think scarlett o hara is immature for marriage”
I love the character of Scarlett O'Hara in Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind, so it's only natural that I explored her characterization on this blog. Whether or not she's too immature for marriage? Once again, I think Google might have misinterpreted a thing or two here, but it's all good.

I hope you got a laugh or two out of this ... some of the things that led people to this blog really cracked me up :-)

Honor Teachers: The Christa McAuliffe Technology Conference

I spent today at the Christa McAuliffe Technology Conference, and I have the great privilege of going back for the next two days. I learned a lot today, actually (about digital portfolios--ways to organize student work in a paperless fashion easily accessible to both students and staff--and different classroom possibilities, including Twitter (which I already had), Skype (which I now have but am not comfortable enough using it to post a link here), and Voice Thread), and I'm very excited about the next two days. Professionally, it's very exciting to be part of such cutting edge potential (my friend and co-worker John wrote a grant, so we're able to attend this conference and buy some really advanced software and such for our little school--amazing opportunity!).

What I couldn't stop thinking about, though, was the extraordinary lady for whom the conference was named, Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher in space. A social studies teacher in Concord, New Hampshire, she was chosen from thousands of applicants to be part of NASA's "Teacher in Space" initiative. McAuliffe died when the Challenger exploded seconds after takeoff on January 28, 1985. She never got to teach the lessons she had planned to conduct from outer space, never had the opportunity to touch the stars literally ... although there is no question she touched them figuratively.

This is true of her teaching experience before she famously said, "I touch the future. I teach." For many, many children, their teachers spend more time with them than their parents do. In this day and age, educators are responsible for things way beyond the scope of their content area--manners, for example, and a sense of responsibility. Perhaps most importantly, though, teachers are a voice of motivation, a "You can do this. I believe in you!" that many students around this country have little sense of. Christa McAuliffe epitomized this; according to The New York Post, she had a strong focus on the difference ordinary, everyday people can make, stating, "They are as important to the historical record as kings, politicians or generals."

When I wrote my Master's thesis, I talked about Jesus Christ and Socrates being referred to as "teacher" and how I felt a true and passionate calling to the noblest profession. I can't believe I left out Christa McAuliffe; I've lived in New Hampshire my entire life, after all, and one of my strongest memories is watching my fourth grade teacher break down in tears when the Challenger exploded.

It occurred to me at the conference today that, never mind that I was eight years old when she passed away, Christa McAuliffe is my colleague. She could have been there today in the conference center overflowing with educators striving to find innovative ways to raise the bar for their students. It made me feel very small, but I also felt a great pride.

After all, "I touch the future. I teach."