Just a short note:
Today, I’m celebrating my 11th anniversary as a blogger. Just for the record, in many ways, I pine for the seemingly simpler blogging days back in 2001 when it was much more about a hyper passionate small group of teachers discovering and tinkering and finding surprises on a daily basis. This space has morphed into something much different today which, on some level, is good: we’re nothing if we don’t keep evoloving. But it’s also much harder. While my list isn’t as long as Gary’s, I’ve grown really tired of assault on schools and teachers, and even more tired of the lack of response. That lack of urgency thing, and more. I’m totally optimistic about the opportunities my kids and others have to make their way in the world and change it for the better. I’m much less optimistic about school’s ability to help them do that in general given the “let’s just keep doing what we’ve been doing better” mindset of the people making the decisions. While we’ve layered on all sorts of technology, 99% of schools are still in the “delivery of education” business and want the same tired awards, grades, recognition, et.al. that come along with it. But those old standards that we aspire to are less and less what learning is about today. And chasing after them, because we want to or because we have to, no longer serves my kids.
My friend Lissa has a saying, that every day in our quest to improve, to be better humans, to make change in the world that matters, we just have to keep “moving molecules” from one heap to the other, shedding old thinking and old practices and old habits for new, day by day, chipping away. On a personal level, it’s easier to do. Every day, I move a few molecules. It’s much harder when dealing with this increasingly dysfunctional education system we’ve built. But that’s now what this space has become. Not tools. Not even technology so much. It’s about ideas, pushing back. Screaming. Trying to get others to move some molecules together.
Here’s to Year 12. Thanks for reading.