After many months of thinking and planning, I was prompted into action by recent events on Save RE. Tone, intention and meaning can be confused, or mistaken on Twitter or during Facebook exchanges. This is one of the reasons that blogging is a really useful exercise. It allows you to consider your ideas, look for evidence, write up carefully and explain yourself with out interruption. However, discussion can then flow about the topic you have picked, questions can be asked and responses written.
I used to enjoy Chris Waugh's education blogsync (see <here>) and it helped me develop my writing style and got my blog out to a wider audience. It helped me establish my blog and a readership.
The question is, could the RE community have it's own blogsync? Is there enough writers to make it work? The activity on things such as #REChatUK, where topics are discussed in a frenzy, as well as Save RE and it's new sister group RE Teacher's Forum on Facebook suggested that there may be.
There has also been some suggestions that the education world is too dominated by white/male/straight people. I want the BlogSyncRE to actively challenge that and give an opportunity to every voice in RE. It is not limited to RE teachers, and anyone who wants to write about RE is more than welcome to partake. If you know someone who can make the debate more inclusive, demonstrating the variety of religion and religious education in the UK, please let them know about the project.
EVERYONE is invited to join in. If you don't have a blog already, set one up... Neil McKain has just joined us this week, read his first blog post <here>. Staffrm has also encouraged many others to join blogging recently with it's own story, really filled with narrative, find it <here>.
Please publicisie this as widely as possible. It is deliberately not tied to any group in the RE world, this can mean editorial process or 'politics'. Just like the #REconsult blog I (successfully?) ran during the RE GCSE/A-Level consultation period (see <here>), there was 'no holds barred' and no topic too controversial. However, we hope all the RE world will get behind this and share posts widely.
I do not run or control #BlogSyncRE. I am just using my expertise, passion, desire and enthusiasm for some real RE debate to enable this to happen. I am more than happy for anyone to help me with the admin and I am more than happy to receive feedback, suggestions for improvement etc.
In the meantime, check out and share the website: www.BlogSyncRE.org.uk
Plus vote for our first topic <here>
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