Back on the blog: The subtle return of myscccdaily

Yes, it is February and I have been slacking.

What did you expect, I am interning and working and raising two special boys.

However, this is not excuse for my lack of writing. I am currently working on presenting on blogging to the SCCC student body and faculty and one of the key points in my presentation is how important it is to KEEP WRITING.

Preparing this presentation has made me realize-- I've stopped writing. And, since I am going to be guiding others, it is probably best that I start practicing what I preach and show others what blogging is really all about.

(I just hope that someone is reading my blog)

Motivation to write can be easily diminished when no one cares. My duty from now on-- Make them care.

There are so many ways people communicate and get information across these days and blogging is just one of them. The difference between blogging and emails, magazines, newspapers, ect. is that no one is making you read them. You, as a reader decide what information you want to pay attention to; it doesn't just magically appear in your mailbox, sent to you from an unknown source without a face just an organizational title.

My job on this blog is to build a personality behind your news, be bias on certain issues, and share the juicy stuff that you can't necessarily get elsewhere.

I developed this blog partly because I was taking a class on blogging, partly because it was my job, but most importantly because I have strong connections to SCCC. As of late, my life has taken me into unknown territory. Student teaching is an unpaid full-time job. But, it has taught me that my best work, where I shine the most, is in making connections with faculty and students.

Now, I am working nights,  I have less and less time to interact with the student body here at SCCC and my work is all done behind the scenes.

However, that need to connect and make my position as an SCCC Student Activities representative fulfilling can be achieved through my success at my job. The more efficiently I work, the closer I feel to making a difference here at SCCC and part of my job is to connect to the students and staff. This blog provides me with that connection.

So, tell a friend to tell a friend about myscccdaily.blogspot.com and let's keep the spirit alive.

Why I write this blog

Being a blogger involves more than just engaging in a hobby; it takes real commitment. Blogging requires discipline, application, and professionalism. When I write for my blog, I am showing my literacy skills in both computers and writing. Blog writing incorporates grammar, syntax, and most importantly personal voice.

While work-shopping my blog posts at the College of Saint Rose, I received a lot of praise for my style and content. My fellow bloggers commented on my control over personal disclosure.

Unlike the “Web’s original oversharing champion” (Rosenberg 44), Justin Hall who first showed us the capabilities of the blogosphere by publishing blog posts thick with personal information and even naked pictures of himself, I am able to draw a line between the private and public self.

In the blogosphere, there are many types of bloggers and even more kinds of blogs. The mission of my blog is to be informative on some level, yes. But, I also want to build up the idea of community which makes Schenectady Community College so great.

The best way to build on my mission, thus my blog, is to share parts of me that make people interested and witnesses to my character.

Through my blog posts I have hyped up many of the campus events. At times, I feel like an SCCC cheerleader.

And maybe I am.

I think this college is a great way to get you started in life, develop professional skills, and give yourself to something bigger while still keeping the main focus on the self.

I believe that my blog shows and tells my own personal standpoint and faith in the College’s mission to build-up and mold successful students. My posts are appropriate because they show students how to be successful despite many of the College’s flaws and faults, such as parking.

My Live blog post was one of my most interesting posts because it gives readers a true picture of the campus atmosphere and chemistry. I hope to do this type of blog post again soon at another event.

The trouble with this type of post is that you can easily miss something while you are writing/ reporting on something else. Live blogs must be written from an observer’s point of view. One cannot expect to engage with students and faculty while writing a live blog post. Choosing an event or nonevent, to live blog about is crucial to a blogger’s agenda and writing capabilities.

However, one must always remember: blogs are published, therefore, anyone wishes to read and have access to your blog may in fact have access. Not all people will appreciate what you write, but writing to evoke emotions is what makes a blog so great and interests readers making them want to return to your blog and read more.

If I were to give my blog a grade in comparison to other blogs I have read, I would probably give it a B.

I believe that my personal on the blog is well developed; the content is appropriate and usually interesting; and the blogging conventions such as consistency and style are executed pretty well.

But, I am struggling with other aspects of the blog. First and probably my most obvious and common to all bloggers is my grammar. It is very easy to have typos when there’s no spell check feature. Secondly, it is difficult to go back and edit previous posts when you have to continue to publish each day. The frequency of blog posts is my third struggle. I made a commitment to publish daily on this blog, and I will often go several days without posting anything.

Recently, I published a blog post that said that I would be featuring other blogger’s posts while I was off being busy finishing up my semester at St. Rose. However, I was obviously too busy to even follow through with this promise I made to my readers. Very bad business. But, since I don’t really have a following of readers, YET, I can get away with this.

However, it’s a blogging “no, no”.

In reading other blogs, I noticed that I am more interested in the blogs that post a lot of content daily. I, as do many other blog readers, get bored easily.

We want fresh news and stories.

We want to go to a blog daily, or several times a week, and be presented with new information.

And, it can’t always be the same story.

We’ve got to change it up a bit. (Thanks Nester for the list of types of blog posts and prompts to get the ideas flowing. I have no excuse not to have something new to write about each day). Now, just because we bloggers change it up a bit doesn’t mean that we don’t repeat kinds of blog posts regularly. For example, link round-ups are great Monday-morning-get-your-week-started kinds of posts. They will never go out of style (at least I don’t think that they will).

Overall, I think that my blog is a pretty good read. My goal, now that I have some content, style, and foundation in blogging, is to accumulate more readers.

What’s the point in writing for an audience if your audience doesn’t even know you exist?

Culinary caught in the fire: Link round-up

So, this fellow blogger is a little surprised, to say the least, that Schenectady County Community College is rated one of the nation's top culinary schools, "Not the CIA. Not the French Culinary Institute. Schenectady County Community College". He buddy, don't knock it till you've tried it. If you look a little deeper into the history of Schenectady, you might find out how significant we really are. Wait. That's won't be necessary because you've already been told.

Hey, recognize this guy? Yeah, that's Max Mackissock, The Denver Post calls him one of Denvers rising star chefs. Guess where he went to school? I'll give you a little hint. It starts with an "S" and ends with a "CCC". Yep. You've guessed it. SCCC

The business and finance blog has also recognized SCCC's Culinary Arts Program, specifically, our Culinary Boot Camp. This blogger had done a fine job of including some info on Schenectady's rich history, the College's degrees and program information, and even the location of our nearest airport.

This boot camp program is making a lot of noise. It is also being covered on the Steve Barns' Times Union blog. The comments are hilarious.

Let's not forget our own Chris Tanner who breaks the program down. Letting you know just what to expect when you sign up for this new and exciting program.

Even the Bus can't make it to school today.

This photo was taken from the second floor window of SCCC looking out onto Washington Ave. This bus's back end must have slid over the sidewalk into those bushes behind it. Perhaps it would have been safer to stay home today.

I wonder if the parking lot has been plowed yet?

A short round-up of upcoming events in and around Schenectady

I don't think that there is any better way to get your children interested in the study of science than to bring them to events like those that The Childrens Museum of Science and Technology (CMOST), located in Troy, holds several times throughout the week. This week they will be featuring a special program on Nanotechnology for children 6-11 years old. This program is designed for students who are home schooled. Hey, if these kids really like this program, send them over to SCCC in a few years to register for our Nanoscale Materials program.

Speaking of the children, did you know that November is National Adoption Month? Wed. November 18th at 4pm in front of the Schenectady County Office Building on State St. people will be speaking about their experiences with adoption.

SCCC Players is putting on a performance of The Importance of Being Earnest. I read this play in Literary Studies at St. Rose. It's very funny, and I hope I can make it to their show.

Columbus celebration or not so much?

It's Monday, week 6, here at SCCC, and I know what you're probably thinking, "We're the only school that's open on Columbus Day."

Well, you're probably right. Most schools in the area are off from school today. If you have children, they're definitely home. I never understood why a community college, which has many nontraditional students, ages twenty-four and up, many of whom have children, didn't give its students holiday's like Columbus Day off.

When I was a student at SCCC, I dreaded the College's "non-holidays". The Schenectady City School District gets, on average, about four days off from school a month. That means that almost 4 days out of the month I had to struggle to find childcare and dip into my savings to pay for it. Many of their days off are due to staff meetings and conferences- things inapplicable to a universal calendar.

On the other hand, all of our calendars designate Columbus Day as a holiday, and I think that SCCC should recognize this. St. Rose does. HVCC does.  SUNY Albany students don't have to go to classes on Yom Kippur- yet another holiday that is recognized by the Schenectady City School District.

If we could organize our school's schedule to include some of these days off and still meet the minimum number of hours required to be an accredited school, SCCC could make the lives of many of its students much easier.

Perhaps our attendance today means much more than we realize.

There are conflicting beliefs and interpretations about our national hero, Mr. Christopher Columbus. Some believe that Columbus discovered America in 1492. And, that's why today we celebrate his designated holiday.

However, there is another school of thought that is often omitted from our elementary school books. Some believe that Columbus's actions were cruel including: his use of slavery and violence against the American Indians, forceful projection of Christianity, and the transmission of diseases that would have lasting effects on the native population.

Are SCCC and other institutions that do not honor Columbus Day as a holiday suggesting that we believe that we should not honor Christopher Columbus as a American hero?

The Rated G version of Christopher Columbus
This morning, I asked my five year old if he knew why he had the day off from school on a Monday.

 "No," he said.

"It's Columbus Day. Do you know who Columbus was?"

He was anxious to answer, "Yes, he came to our island on a boat."

Maybe I shouldn't have, but I did.

I informed my five-year-old, little boy that, "When he came here he wanted to build houses for people to live in, and so, all of the Indians who used to live in the forests had to leave."

"Did they die?" he asked me. Big Brother often worries about death.

"No. Wait, yes, some of them died from diseases. Those men on the boats didn't bring their toothbrushes and use the soap when they took their showers, and so, they were full of germs when they landed in America. The Indians weren't used to all these germs and some of them got sick and died. The others, they moved to little communities away from the European men who were busy building house and taking over the forests."

The moral of this story: Brush your teeth and wash up with soap!

For those of you who do have today off, Say Schenectady has a list of things to do and celebrate the holiday.