November 10th-16th

And what wonderful timing for my students to start feeling self sufficient in their learning, because on November 9th, I stirred from my bed at 6:00 in the morning with a 102° fever. As unfortunate as it was, I couldn’t do anything but rest and pump myself full of antibiotics.

During this time, I continued to consider the nature of this project. How could I get someone to care? 

Then it struck me: everyone that I had been introduced to in the field of education activism has predominantly used social media and internet resources to make their curriculum and resources as accessible as possibly. Programs like Teachers’ Treasures in Marion Country served as an example for me. They share news, curriculum, and funding for the educators in central Indiana, as well as serving as a collected one-stop-shop to gain support and connection. That was exactly what I had been looking for. 

In my previous archaeology classes, I was sung the praises of how blogs can make complicated fields in academia like classics more accessible and fun for a wider audience. People care a lot more about history and learning from it if they’re able to easily and clearly read about it, after all. In these courses, I was instructed on how to use free blogging platforms such as Google Blogger, where I could make a clean and engaging website. I was awarded many opportunities through different classroom assignments to practice my public-facing academia writing voice. 

As frightened as I was (though surely affected by my persistent fever and lack of oxygen) to put my work out to the public, it’s a small step towards what education and classics alike needed now more than ever: public exposure. With the imminent destruction of the Department of Education, as well as the problematic history of archaeology, members of the public needed to be a fly on the wall in these niche places. 

And with my thorough diary entries and photos, I had created the perfect formula for a blog. Here, I could include links to my curriculum so educators could have access to it for free. Here, they could comment on posts, start networks of communication and support. Here, history could be something to learn from instead of just learning.