Why Blog? Why Now?

The last time we posted on this blog was June 2011. I believe social media experts would call that a “less-than-stellar” blogging record.

We started our blog with the best of intentions. We wanted to share our thoughts and expertise about education in and around our community with you.  We found out, however, that blogging isn’t as easy as it seems.  Well, the act of blogging itself – sitting down at the computer and writing – isn’t so hard, but simply throwing words up on a screen didn’t fall in line with what Champion Tutoring is about.  We looked at blogging like we look at all of our work – if we were going to do it, we were going to do it right.  That meant it needed to be interesting and important, it had to truly contribute to the conversation and, of course, it needed to be grammatically correct. All of that, we found, takes time.

Back in 2011 our Director was spending most of his time getting to know our students and making sure they had the best possible learning experience at Champion Tutoring. Today, as Director and Owner of this company, I still meet with each and every one of our students to ensure they get exactly what they need while they are here. That ‘personal touch’ IS what we’re all about: our students come first, and it will always be that way.

So, why are we taking time to blog again? Why now?

As Champion’s owner I talk to parents all day long about their children’s school experiences.  Sometimes a parent just needs to vent, and I’m okay with that.  Often parents feel alone in their struggles. When they are able to talk to me I can actually hear relief (and release) in their voices. It gives me great pleasure to be able to reassure them that there are so many ways – and tutoring is just one of them – that they can help their child.

Tutoring is a wonderful resource, but I think talking is important, too. As a parent myself, I am always comforted when I talk with other moms and dads about my little boy, who just started Kindergarten last month.  In fact, yesterday I stood in the parking lot of Carter’s Mountain Orchard for 45 minutes chatting with another mom about the transition to elementary school.  I was feeling clueless about everything, having just entered this new community at Broadus Wood Elementary School.  I walked away from that conversation feeling happier, and lighter somehow. It occurred to me then just how important talking, and subsequently listening, are.

So here is the answer to my “Why blog now?”question…

I want this blog to be an additional forum for talking with parents, as well as with teachers, administrators and community leaders about how we can best help our children succeed both in and out of school.  With the help of our talented teaching staff, instructors from our Champion Adult Learning Academy (CALA) workshops, other education experts and YOU, our hope is that we can all join in this conversation together.

So there it is. We’re going to do this blogging thing, and we’re going to do it right.  And that is what we are all about!