EdBlog Watch: Bluebird's Classroom

Education blogs regularly dish trenchant policy analysis and lively debates on NCLB, but it's important not to forget the softer side of blogs, where educators can read and discuss the trials and tribulations of their day-to-day lives. Bluebird's Classroom, authored by a middle school science teacher, connects readers to the human interest stories inherent in classroom communities.

"The worst part about having a student teacher in the room is that I miss my kids. I'm not there every period to find out what's going on with their lives, to listen to them chatter, to just be there and enjoy the silliness (and oftentimes frustration) that comes with your average 7th grader," the blogger relates in a recent post. On another day, she's abruptly pulled for discipline referral work ("You've got your master's degree, right?" asks an administrator heading to a meeting downtown.)

Another touching story deals with running a Military Support Group for the large number of students in the school with parents who are deployed. "Just giving those kids a moment of relief and peace is worth its weight in gold." Bluebird's Classroom is a highly relatable, highly readable journal from the heart of the classroom.