About the best compliment I could get (or, why blogging is worthwhile)

Amateur geologist, author, and fantastic human being, Dana Hunter, has written a post in which she talks about how my blogging has inspired an appreciation for hydrology that she never otherwise would have developed. I won’t quote from her post here, but I wanted to bookmark it someplace special so that I could come back to it when the demands of teaching, research, and parenting get me down. If nothing else, I now know my blogging has made a difference for somebody that I’ve never even met.

I think that’s part of the power of blogging – it not only can bring the world into the classroom, but it broadens the classroom into the world. As the theme for this month’s geoscience blog carnival, the Accretionary Wedge, I asked contributors to muse on education. Amongst many great submissions so far, Dana’s post on how professional geoscientists can reach out to amateurs is truly inspiring. Honestly, if geoscientists are truly going to make a difference in the world, it won’t be through journal papers, conference presentations, or even graduate seminars, it’ll be through reaching out beyond our professional and student ranks to people who are curious and care about the Earth. I sincerely hope that includes most of its residents.