1. "My daughter's experience as a youth blogger has had a great impact on her writing ability and creativity. Getting to experiment with multi-media art and writing has sparked an interest in journalism and cartoon art she did not have prior.
Soon, she'll get her first real journalistic experience as she blogs about Harvard Softball throughout their season. She'll be interviewing the coaches and players throughout their season about softball and Harvard academics and then blogging about it.
Having ownership of the blog has also increased engagement and accountability for her this year. The technology capabilities she's gained this year will enhance her educational experience now and down the line. I'm ecstatic that her teacher Mr. Schwartz is an innovative educator and that Garrison is exposing our kids to something fun and unique."
2. "Prior to entering Mr. Schwartz’s class, my son didn’t like to write. It was pulling teeth to simply get him to write a paragraph for his 3rd grade class project. When he joined Mr. Schwartz’s class in the fall, he was informed that daily writing was part of his homework, and he started becoming much more comfortable – but he’d still count every word and do it at the last possible moment.
Now that the blog is up and running, my son is able to access it at home, and suddenly I have a little boy who’s “just doing the blog part” of his homework as soon as he gets home from school, and who becomes more comfortable with writing every day. This comfort with writing and presenting his work has extended to other areas, and I couldn’t be more pleased. My son is learning to think of his computer as a tool, not just a toy, and is gaining skills that he will use throughout his life."
