Change in Course

Well, this marks a month of officially being in the blogosphere, and while I feel like I’ve made some  progress towards some unknown end in this crazy, let’s-change-education journey I’ve embarked on, I have literally years to go, and as such, I will not always know what new paths I will encounter or where they will take me.  As I started out a month ago, I assumed I had mapped out a route that would be full of others joining me in conversation, but my assumptions were misguided, as few have actually joined the conversation. And I don’t know why.  I think I thought that if I posed a question others would simply jump at the chance to share their views on education, and together we would speed along to our destination of bringing about significant change. Silly Syrie. Obviously, now a month in, I’ve realized that perhaps I set off in the wrong direction.  So, time for a change of course, a new direction.

To date, the site has had 8,485 views, which I hope is a good sign, but I have no frame of reference in this regard.  There have been 176 comments, but half of them were from my students, so I don’t know what that really means.  Regardless, I am pleased overall, and I am very thankful for the support that folks have shown in these first few steps of my journey, but I am a little concerned about sustainability as I trek forth, so I am going to try something new.

For starters, I’ve decided to abandon the “Monthly Topic,” where I pose both a general question for all and then a specific question for each of the stakeholders: teachers, students, parents and public.  This first month out, I chose motivation as the topic for discussion, but little happened with it, and many of the comments (student comments) may have simply been what any of us would have anticipated anyway.  So maybe, then, I asked the wrong question, and folks were neither inspired nor motivated to chime in.  Not sure. Maybe, too, asking the question at the beginning of the month and just leaving it sitting there was not the best choice, creating an outta-sight, outta-mind effect. Whatever, the reasons behind the limited participation, I have decided to change to the “Weekly Wonder” in hope that this may be a better approach, keeping the topics fresher.  As many know, I have actually already headed in that direction, and I will follow that path for a while, seeing where it leads.  The “Weekly Wonder” will resume next week.  To be honest, with the new semester starting this week, it will be struggle enough just to get the “Morning Minutes” done.  Feeling a little less than Super at the moment, even with the shirt on.

One other change that is already in place (see this morning’s post http://www.letschangeeducation.com/?p=325) is the addition of “Today’s Parting Questions” posed at the end of the “Morning Minutes.”  My hope here is that these questions will not only be relevant to the day’s post but also not require too much time or thought for folks to spend their two cents and post a comment.  We’ll see how it goes.  My “Do-Learn-Do Better” mantra seems appropriate here as I seek to make this shared journey better for all. Other changes to come, but for now, a hearty thanks to those who have joined me along the way.  I hope I can find ways to keep you interested.  I kinda need ya.  Can’t do this alone.  

2 thoughts on “Change in Course”

  1. I am here to defend the Month Topic! I want it to stay! I’ve never commented on any of your posts about it, but it is really something I’ve been pondering very deeply over the course of last month. I have to admit, it is not an easy topic for me, and after a whole month of thinking (almost every single day) about what motivates me, I have to admit that I still do not know entirely. I actually may be even more lost about myself than I was before. But that’s a good thing. That’s the point of a month-long pondering topic. I have a lot more to say, but I’ll probably just save that for a future essay for your class. Anyhow, please continue to do the Monthly Topics. I know what it’s like to not feel like people are noticing, but rest assured — people see. And it really is a good thing.

  2. I like the idea of quick,fast response, to be able to respond right after I have read the blog, while my thought s and ideas are fresh. I had good intentions of writing on the monthly “motivation ” topic but never got back to it. Sorry.
    I will put forth my two cents, to help support your journey is well worth the effort to share thoughts and ideas,

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