Searching for a New Niche

What do you write about when most of your job involves confidentiality? Last January I began a new position: Instructional Partner. Up until then, my blog had become a place to post classroom antics, lesson ideas, and log much of the learning I was doing with my students. Suddenly, I found that I could no longer write about those things. I wasn't in a regular classroom every day, and when I was visiting a colleague's room I needed to build a trusting relationship. I certainly couldn't and wouldn't write about the things I'd seen. They weren't mine to share, and I could never break my colleague's trust that way. I couldn't write about my own professional learning because it was confidential. In short, in order to be successful as instructional partner I couldn't share anything about what I was doing.

Based on the slim number of Instructional Partner blogs out there, I'm guessing that many of my fellow partners (coaches, etc...) feel the same way I do and are just as cautious about blogging. So I've posted sparingly. I've struggled to find ideas worthy of sharing with my colleagues. I've searched for a new niche, and honestly haven't quite found it yet.

That's the reason for the low number of my posts this year. Up until last January, my posts all involved things I was learning and doing in my profession and questions I had. As an instructional partner, I just can't share those things anymore. I'm hoping to be able to contribute in a meaningful way to my online PLN soon.