I think that switching the “RCL Blog” to “Social Issues” would be an interesting change for next semester. I mean, a lot of us have probably exhausted our supply of rhetoric and analysis behind everyday civic engagement in broad terms, and social issues in general would provide a current and relevant platform for discussion. To be honest, I don’t really know a lot about various social issues other than the most cursory basics. I think this new category would be informative and helpful in our development as “well-rounded” individuals. (Plus, being aware of contemporary issues and being able to develop our own standpoints is a major part of civic engagement.)
As for improvements for next semester, I was thinking that maybe we could have a running blog competition every month or so for “The Funniest Blog”, “The Most Thoughtful Blog”, or “The Most Informative,” and so on. There could be voting by a poll or some other determination of blog excellence. An added incentive might be an extra credit point or something tacked on to each category winner’s lowest assignment grade.
Also, another idea I had was that maybe in addition to commenting on other posts, everyone could also reply to people’s comments. That way there could be a longer, more extended discussion for each topic. I know a lot of us finish early on the Friday In-Class Blog Days, so maybe we could use the extra time to respond to other people’s first-round of responses.