My first question to the UT Moody Marketing Team…”Are blogs still a thing?”

I have read my fair share of blogs, followed bloggers, and been grateful for the resources they provide. However, I never considered starting my own. Never that is until now. My name is Mary Beth Schmitt. I have many roles and identities that I will share in future posts, but one of those roles is Director of The Children’s Language, Literacy, and Learning Lab (CL3) at The University of Texas at Austin. My team has several outlets for sharing new knowledge including journal publications, presentations, and social media. Our primary focus on those platforms is informing stakeholders of new findings pertaining to serving children with language disorders. We will continue sharing our findings there!

But increasingly, I have felt a growing need to share ideas and perspectives that don’t fit neatly into the academic world. Ideas for which the best synonym may be “musings” with the intent first and foremost of pushing our thinking – thinking differently, dynamically, experimentally. Because the UT Moody Marketing team said “Yes, actually, blogs are still a thing” here I am, launching a blog.

In this way, the blog is first and foremost for me. I have always wrestled with new ideas through writing – mostly in a journal or random scrap of paper. Writing is how I “see” new ideas, question long-held beliefs, and hear my inner voice. As a leader, now more than ever, I see the need to bring new ideas into the light of day.

And if this is all the blog serves, it will be enough.

However, I am choosing to make this space public. I am choosing to make this space public to create space for community. I am choosing to make this space public to invite a larger conversation on what it means to show up for ourselves, our colleagues, our co-learners, and our clients in today’s society. In this space, it is okay – welcomed – to agree, to disagree, to question, and to wrestle with ideas. It is not okay to bring any form of racist, ableist, or disparaging remarks against anyone or any groups of people. Hate has no place here.

I am glad to be here. For anyone else who stumbles across this page – welcome.

~MBS