The Spirit of Blogging ~ A Call to Leaders

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“It’s lonely at the top” is a phrase heard often about leadership.  It’s a phrase that I found to be true early in my school administrative career. When I began my career in education as a teacher and coach, I was part of a large community. There were lots of teachers at the school where I worked, and the coaches of the teams my athletes competed against became life-long friends. I was able to work with others who were doing what I did on a daily basis, and learning from them helped me to become a better teacher and coach.  

Ten years ago, as I transitioned to being a school administrator, the number of people around me who understood my job and responsibilities became smaller. I still wanted to learn, but I didn’t feel like I had the pool of resources that I had when I was a teacher.

Today, through the power of twitter and blogging and other social media, I don’t feel the isolation I once felt. Today, I can reach out to one of my many friends in my PLN and ask for feedback, advice, or encouragement. I can connect with leaders across the country (and world) who are doing what I do, who have been where I’m going, or who can help me to see what I cannot yet see.

Through my blog, I have been able to reflect on what I do and share what I’m doing and learning with others. It’s been very satisfying to get feedback that ranges from how to improve to “atta girl.” 

Recently, I contacted Craig Vroom about starting a group of blogging educators who commit to posting monthly, visiting each other’s blogs, leaving comments, and sharing via social media. We want to get better at what we do, we want to be a part of a community, and we find value in collaboration. We want to connect with, learn from, and share with YOU!

We hope that you will join us on this journey!

Edited 2022: During the summer of 2021, we said goodbye to the Compelled Bloggers Community, as we all moved into different directions in our personal and professional lives.

Join Me for a Motivational Linky Party!

Every Monday during 2014, you'll find a Motivational Monday blog post on my blog. I needed the structure and I wanted to share motivation with the blogosphere and all of my PLN! Some of my favorites from the year are Why Be Normal, Getting Off the Road to Failure is a Choice, and Just Do Right by Maya Angelou.

I learn from my PLN, too, and I've chosen to surround myself with positive people who challenge, uplift, and inspire me. Here are some terrific blog posts from a few of them, like 

Be Great Everyday by Jarred Fuhrman, Make It Count by Craig Vroom, Be Distinct: Find the Hero Within by Lolly Daskal, and 10 Shifts for Educators to Make in the Upcoming School Year by Justin Tarte.

With all this give and take, I decided to host my first Linky Party. I'm not a Linky expert, but I've joined many from my personal blog and I love having lots of blogs all in one place. Keep reading... I'll explain.

What is a Linky Party?
A Linky Party is when the author of a blog (the host) invites the blog readers to link up their blog posts on the same topic. This is often done when a blogger posts an idea for a topic like My Best Getting-to-know-you Activities, or How My School Uses Social Media, Classroom Management Tips, or in this case, Motivational Monday!

In other words, you will write a Motivational Monday blog post on your blog on August 4th, then you will share that link on my blog post via a link-up tool. There will be instructions on my blog post that day. I promise it will be easy! 

Why should I join a Linky Party?

As a blogger, when you link up your post to the original you are widening your audience and increasing the chances of your content being read.

As a reader, linky parties are a great way to find additional information on the same topic.

How do I join a Linky Party?

1. Publish your Motivational Monday blog post on August 4th.

2. You must let your readers know that you've joined the Linky Party. 

There are two ways to do that: a) Find the Linky Button for the linky party in the right-hand margin of my blog page. Below the image you will see code in the widget box. Copy the code and insert it (HTML) into your blog post on the topic. The button will let your readers know that you are participating in a linky party and direct them to the other entries. b) If you're not sure how to embed the button, you can note at the beginning or end of your blog post that you are joining the Linky Party and use the address of my specific blog post that's hosting the Linky Party.

3. Next, go to my blog post inviting you to link up with the Linky Party.

4. Click on the Linky button (InLinkz)

5. Fill out the required information

6. You must include the direct link to your post, not your general URL. 

Wrong = www.thecompellededucator.blogspot.com because this links to my blog in general.

Right = http://thecompellededucator.blogspot.com/2014/06/making-most-of-time-we-have-motivation.html because this links to a specific blog post. (Click the title of your post, then copy the address in the address bar.)

I don’t have a blog, how do I participate in the Linky Party?

Participants who don’t have blogs are welcome to join in the discussions by leaving comments on the blog posts of the bloggers who are participating.

I have a blog or website about education but I didn’t post anything on the Linky Party topic, can I still link up?

Posts that are not linked up properly will be deleted so readers don’t become confused or frustrated looking for the content.

So when is this Linky Party going to take place?

It may sound crazy, but it's going to be on August 4th. I know it's over a month away, but hey, I'm a planner. (And, if you read this post earlier today, I don't know my holidays!) 

What do we write about? 

Thinking you might want to try this? Go ahead and write your blog post. Have it ready to post that day or week. It doesn't have to be perfect, just motivational! Tell a story, share your favorite motivational quotes, describe a hardship, share how you helped a student, colleague or family member... the list goes on. ONE TIP: INCLUDE A PICTURE IN YOUR BLOG POST. You will have to choose the image that will show up in your Linky square (provided I can set it up correctly), so you want to make sure you have something there.

ALRIGHT, HERE'S ANOTHER TIP: Go ahead and write your blog post, then SCHEDULE it to post on August 4th. Then, when you get a chance that week you can Link up! Booyah!

Transparency alert: I'm a little nervous about hosting this Linky Party for two reasons. I've never set one up - only joined them - so I'm working behind the scenes to learn how to do it and I'm hoping that I figure it out by August 4th! (This is called "building it as we fly.") The second reason I'm nervous is that I'm afraid I'll host the party and no guests will show up. Please don't leave me hanging! Just sayin'!

Now get to writing! :-)

P.S. Feel free to email me if you have questions about how to embed an image, copy and paste the text in the widget box, or anything else blog related. My email: jenniferhogan (at) charter (dot) net

Making the Most of the Time We Have - Motivation Monday #25 {June 23, 2014}

Every Monday I post quotes and/or videos to inspire and motivate you through your week. Get ready for a great one!

My parents have a beautiful pool in their backyard, and they use a specific company to service their pool. Last month my father called the business and asked for the owner's son to come and service their pool, just as he had done for the past few years. He was told that the young man (who was in his early 20's) had been killed in in a hunting accident back in January.

It's a sobering reminder that none of us know how much time we have left on Earth, but we have the ability to use the time we do have to bring joy to others and ourselves.

Here's a great video that represents how much time we have... in jellybeans. 

(Click here if you are on a device where you can't see the video)

I challenge you to make the most of your time this week. Do something for others. Do something for yourself. Start something new. LIVE FULLY.

Have a super week!

Random Acts of Kindness Inspire! - Motivation Monday #24 {June 16, 2014}

Every Monday I post quotes and/or videos to inspire and motivate you through your week. Get ready for a great one!

Imagine you are a middle school administrator. You show up to school and two students have placed sticky notes on all of the lockers. How do you respond? 

See what Mary Martinez Smith and Damian Marlow did for their 8th-grade classmates. All 800 of them!

Inspired? Here's the challenge for the week: Perform a random act of kindness! Feel free to share the results in the comments or tweet it using #TCERAOK (TheCompelledEducatorRandomActofKindness).