I’ve been writing and teaching writing since my graduation from Wellesley College in the 1980’s. I started out as a reporter at two weekly newspapers – The Eastern Shore News as a summer reporter and then a short time at the Virginia Gazette in Williamsburg, Virginia. I loved being a reporter, but was curious about video production – so I moved to Cox Cable Tidewater with the promise that I could learn how to make videos (film, write, edit).
Once I’d learned what I set out to learn at Cox Cable – including writing two half-hour documentaries for them and logging hundreds of hours behind cameras at multi-camera shoots – I moved to Richmond, Virginia and on to graduate study in photography, video producer work with employee communications at Dominion Resources (then Virginia Power), and eventually settling into a diverse public relations gig at the Virginia Treatment Center for Children.
So – where does the teaching come in? After seven years at the VTCC, I wanted more time for writing. What I didn’t realize was how rewarding teaching high school would be. I also didn’t realize how much I would learn and grow personally through this career change.
That was the mid-1990’s. I’ve since held teaching positions in two large public high schools, in a governor’s school for the arts, in a high school communications specialty center, at two public universities, and at several community arts centers. Always teaching writing – sometimes as an English teacher, sometimes as a creative writing coach, sometimes as a journalism / media studies instructor. Writing is probably the thread, although reading and media studies are entwined throughout.
They say if you want to learn something, try to teach it. So very true.
I created this blog to hold my teaching portfolio and provide a place for me to reflect on work that frequently consumes my life.
Here are my official professional “about me” docs:
- CV (pdf 58kb)
- Statement of Teaching Philosophy (pdf 317kb)
- Statement of Multicultural Teaching Practice (pdf 460kb)
Bloxom's Teaching Portfolio 