Education is undergoing a long term, slow reform. Laptops and tablets are commonplace in the classrooms now, and a middle school classroom without a SMARTboard is uncommon. In his article Why Blog? Searching for Writing on the Web, author Alex Reid presents an addition to this reform: educational blogging. Reid says that “Through blogging, you can discover such motivations not only for writing on your blog but for writing in general, and once you have some internal motivation for writing, you will find it easier to translate that motivation into your academic writing, and later into your writing as a professional.” (Reid) In the form of blog posts, writing classes can give students what so many humans crave and need: the comfort that comes in control. Control over what they write and when they write. Control over their writing style. Control over what font they use. Permission to take control of their own learning.

As a person who struggles with Major Anxiety Disorder, control is a matter of which I have given much thought. When I experience anxiety in my day to day life, it is often because of a situation or future I cannot control. Often, I experience anxiety at the thought of experiencing anxiety in the future!

I think that greed is a matter of control. When one lacks money, they have little control over where they live, what they eat, or what they do every day. When one has money, they can control the livelihoods of others, more of their career, and the precautions they take for a more secure future. ‘Corrupt politicians’, of which there are many, are often corrupted as they bid to gain more and more money, which in turn raises the political control of the politician.

Greed for control is well demonstrated in The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. In The Hobbit“, a dragon takes the Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor, and the dwarves loose their homes and lives. After many years, the King of the Dwarves, Thorin, leads a quest to retake the mountain from the Dragon. After succeeding, Thorin is afflicted with what Tolkien calls “Dragon Sickness”, which is a devastating, all encompassing greed. In my perspective, this greed comes from the trauma Thorin endured after the dragon attack, a trauma that lead to desire to control his home, family, and friends so that he would not loose them again. If Thorin was real and living in 2019, I think he would like blogging.

Reid, Alex. “Why Blog? Searching for Writing on the Web.” Writing Spaces, Parlor Press, WAC Clearinghouse, and Grand Valley State University’s Sustainable Community Development Initiative., 2011.

Tolkien, J R. R. The Hobbit, Or, There and Back Again. , 1937. Print.