The Scout

‘verb

1.

make a search for someone or something in various places.’

An unusual name for a blog, I know. However, when presented with the challenge of creating and composing a blog for my studies as a journey towards becoming a teacher-librarian, it was one that rang true for me. You see, I am a complete novice in the world of blogging. In fact, until I became involved in my recent studies I can honestly confess that I had never even read a blog. And, if I’m going to be completely honest, I would openly admit that I never truly saw the value in blogging. As a teacher, I had this naïve, and somewhat highbrow perception, that blogs were for the ill-informed, the over-opinionated. I know, I know – when I read those statements now, I could probably categorise myself and my knowledge of blogging with them! So, in an effort to learn and perhaps enhance my skills, I confronted blogging from a Scout’s perspective. I scoured the internet to engage with blogs of interest to myself and my studies. I poured over fan-blogs, educational blogs and yes, even those that appealed to my hobbies and lifestyle. I became a blog scout!

However, further inspiration to the name of this blog is the character of Scout from my favourite novel – ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee. Scout is an innocent, naïve young girl whose curiosity for the world fuels her desire to learn. While she is challenged by the various conflicts that occur in her community, she also embraces the musings and experiences of those who surround her. The power of this particular novel is the character of Scout as the definitive hero who must discover the path she is to take, just like a scout sent ahead to find the least treacherous path to follow. So, in a manner, I harnessed her curiosity and her readiness to learn, to discover and to grow when creating this blog.

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