The Culture of Yes turns 10 this month. 364 posts later, and here we are.
Starting this blog seemed like a natural fit. In an earlier time I had been a newspaper columnist so was pretty familiar with organizing thoughts into 550 words at a time. And in 2010 I was just officially starting as Superintendent so I was looking to differentiate myself and find a way to have a voice in a way that was authentic and made sense for me. At the time I had a blogroll that was inspiring. I would read Dean Shareski, or Will Richardson, or David Warlick and be excited. The world of web 2.0 was booming and each post I read was opening me up to new ideas and a new world I was trying to understand.
The world of education blogs has really felt like it has had a boom and bust era. My 2010 entry was just before the boom. We had a community in BC of edu-bloggers including Chris Wejr, Elisa Carlson, Cale Birks, Dave Truss, Brian Kuhn and others. It was just as the way we get education news was shifting. Blogs were opening up classrooms, schools and districts to the community. It was interesting to see what was being written in local blogs driving conversations in school and in the media. What I saw in a blog post Monday, I would read in a Janet Steffenhagen story on Thursday in the Vancouver Sun. The modern network was truly coming alive. I also loved how blogging came alive in our schools. We still have a number of staff blogging – including Cari Wilson who is still so great at posting every week!
And yet within 4 or 5 years the internet was littered with well intentioned but discarded educational blogs. It is not as bad as it sounds. Like with any trend or fad you get this huge growth, and then some people decided it wasn’t for them, and moved on. We began to consume more through social media – twitter posts were far easier than 500 word blog posts. And as I wrote, the comments really slowed down (ironically that post about the lack of commenting has 86 comments). And the comments that came were not on the post but on Facebook or Twitter. The conversation actually happened in multiple places which was not really a good thing – I would often think of a conversation of a post on Twitter, that these people should meet the people talking about it on Facebook, they would really learn from each other. That said, my thanks to the close to 4,000 comments that have been shared directly on the site – they have challenged me, taught me and encouraged me. I looked back at my first post – thanks to Brian Kuhn for being the first person to leave a comment.
In my first post I wrote:
It is an exciting time in education. I feel like we are in the middle of a dramatic shift in what “school” looks like. We will look back on this time as a pivotal point of change. I look forward to sharing ideas, and connecting with those inside and outside our system as we work our way through it.
And it was an exciting time, and is an exciting time in education. This blog has really been career defining for me. I love to look back at what I used to think and write about, how I believe some things more strongly now than when I wrote them and on other topics my views have changed – that is what is great about learning in public – I can share this. And if nobody else even reads it, the act of writing down ideas and taking a position has been exceptionally powerful for me.
When I was asked to describe my blog goal, I have said, I know I am not the New York Times or Wall Street Journal of education blogs. I am more USA Today. And while we need the more formal writers, we also need those who are trying to be accessible to those not in education. I have tried to be a serious thinker who doesn’t take himself too seriously.
Today, I love following other superintendent bloggers. In BC I read everything that Dave Eberwein, Kevin Godden and Jordan Tinney write. I just wish more of my colleagues would blog. As my regular readers know, my doctoral research is around the role of the superintendency and I am fascinated by the role and the work. I also really appreciate how supportive Jay Goldman and the AASA (School Superintendent’s Association) has been to regularly highlight superintendent blogs in their magazine and to take several of my pieces and work with me to convert them into magazine columns and articles.
As to my posts – if I want to chase clicks, I find if I write about parenting and sports those fuel interest. I really enjoy writing about both topics so it is fun to stir debate around them. They are actually the easier posts to write. My most-read post to date comes from November of 2010 on Stuart Shanker and Self-Regulation. I have written about Stuart’s work a number of times, and it is an example of thinking that has really changed my view of education in the last decade. More personally, my post Teacher during the 2014 teacher’s strike about my dad really sticks with me.
And yes, every-time I still hit publish I feel anxiety. I think my high school English teacher is out they’re noticing grammar errors (that was intentional). And I worry (it has only happened a handful of times) someone will splice a part of my text and re-post it social media to try to embarrass me or make a political point. But my blog has changed me. It has opened doors for me for work, it has introduced me to many new people and given me a platform to share. Most importantly, it has given me voice and confidence. I am still a proponent of having everyone write for the world, as we all have stories to tell and we want our children to feel this comfort from a young age.
So, to all who have read and engaged with me over the last 10 years – thank you. Hopefully I have helped assure you that superintendents are actually human being and not just “those guys” in the board office. I love our community and my head is full of ideas I want to write and think through with you in this space in the months and years ahead.
I look forward to the next 10!
Happy blogaversary!
You were the one who motivated me to blog, and while I think our blogs are quite different at times I give you full credit for motivating me and causing me to step out of my comfort zone. Thank you, Chris. Here’s to 10 more years.
Thanks Dave. It is good we could find one way that I was actually a good influence.
Congrats, Chris, on hitting the 10-year mark. As one of your more avid followers (though not quite back to the beginning), I appreciated the shoutout in your retrospective post here. You and a couple of fellow British Columbia superintendents have set a high standard for thoughtful, reflective writing from the perspective of school system leadership. More here in the states would do well to follow your leads. Keep it going!
Thanks Jay for being such a regular reader and for encouraging others superintendents to consider putting themselves out there.
Happy 10th, Chris and Thank You as you did inspire me to start my own blog. Cheers.
Deb – thanks for all the support you gave me when I was getting started. You kept me out of trouble many times. And great that you found your voice through your blog . . . albeit I don’t really know what you are talking about 🙂
Thank you Chris for your transparency and inspiration. Keep it coming.
Thanks Jonathan. I appreciate you reading and taking the time to comment!
Happy Blogiversary Chris!
I read this and it made me wonder where the time has gone? Even now, when I’ve been blogging daily, I still get those publish button pangs, I’m not sure they will ever go away… but I’m with you in the toast to another decade.
If there is one thing that I wish I was more effective at, I think it would be in getting kids to blog more. While I’m seeing some amazing and creative (video and image) content from some kids, I think every (or at least most) kids could benefit from practicing their writing with an authentic audience.
Blogging is in our blood, I think we’ll both be continuing right into retirement:)
Thanks Dave. I have been surprised more students have not got into blogging. They are so creative at creating content for a variety of social media platforms. Blogs seem like a great home base for all of their content.
Great to still have our blogging community!
Hi Chris,
Congratulations and that’s a big commitment and you should be proud. I appreciate how you just put things out there with the goal of allowing people to get to know you and to see that superintendents are just like anyone else. I’ve admired your commitment to writing and your incredible devotion to high school sports. It’s been a pleasure to read your stuff, to learn more (a columnist?) about you even though I know you well.
Take care, stay well, blog on,
Jordan
Thanks Jordan – great to have you in the blog community.
Hello,
As a classroom teacher I have enjoyed reading your blog posts for the last ten years. I like the creative April Fool’s Day blog posts that you’ve done. Perhaps this April Fool’s Day you will write about how the West Vancouver School District in collaboration with SpaceX and Elon Musk will be building the first elementary school in space. Similar, to the International Space station this will allow students to participate in P.E. classes taught in zero gravity.
I also liked your blog post about visiting classrooms, assisting teachers and participating in field trips. I thought it was great a superintendent wanted to interact with students, parents and teachers, to see what was going on in schools. A very progressive idea in education.
Jens Preshaw
Thanks Jens for reading and commenting. And I like your idea for April 1st . . . I actually usually start stressing now for a good idea.