Writing News Re: Me

I have a bit of news to share.

You may have heard that Anthony Cody I leaving behind the world of Education Week blogging to pursue other projects and spin "Living in Dialogue" onto some new platforms. That should be going live sometime this week. You can stay caught up with his progress at the Living in Dialogue page on Facebook. I think that whole enterprise is going to be pretty cool.

In the meantime, EdWeek had an opening for a blogger, and the writer who got the nod is your truly.

I'm excited about this. It will give me an opportunity to make the case for American public education to a slightly different audience. I know there are people out there who consider EdWeek too corporate and conservative, but for me that is part of the point. There's an audience over there that is unlikely to wander into this blog on their own. I've talked to both Anthony and to Nancy Flanagan, two education writers for whom I have the utmost respect; both say they have never suffered from editorial interference at EdWeek. I have talked to my new editor there. I am confident that I will get to say what I want to say (as long as I follow the instructions of my first newspaper editor years ago, who told me "Write whatever you ant. Just try to keep some connection to our readers, and don't libel anybody.")

I will not in any way shape or form be abandoning this blog. It will continue to be the home base, mother ship, inner sanctum for me, just as it has remained as my blogginess  slopped over onto Facebook and the Huffington Post.

It is continually amazing to me that a guy with nothing more than some years of teaching experience and a knack for flinging words together can end up reaching so many people. Who knew that technology would bring us back around to a world where writing-- just plain writing-- could become so powerful?

I have no interest in becoming rich and famous (an it's a damn good thing, too), but I do have an interest in A) getting the word out about what's happening in public education to people who don't know, B) letting people who DO know know that they are not crazy or alone, and C) furthering a thoughtful discussion about one of the most important things in this country-- public education. And doing it all from the perspective of a classroom teacher (I will not say "just") with no special honors or credits or thinky tank money to my name.  I'm excited about carrying that mission to new audiences. The new column should go live, once or twice a week, by the end of this month.