Back To School

Great way to end the summer tonight: I made a big honkin' pot of Boston baked beans, Mrs. Jazzman did her famous ribs, and the Jazzboys made cornbread and apple pie. Summer just flies by, doesn't it?

Well, back to school for me tomorrow - and what of this blog?

Honestly, I'm not sure. It really does take a lot of time to write some of these posts. I try to link to sources as much as possible so you, gentle reader, can make up your own mind if I'm right or full of crap (or ribs, or beans, or...). That takes more work than random crayon scribbling, but I wouldn't feel right doing otherwise.

And what to write about? I started this little screed factory in response to the assault Chris Christie has made on teachers - no, Chris, not the "teachers union," the teachers. That will continue to be my major focus; however, I don't want to restrict myself. Education is merely one of many threads that need to be connected to tell a larger story about America and NJ in the 21st century; I want to give myself the freedom to connect those threads.

I also continue to think it's really, really important to challenge the narratives that many of our professional pundits keep putting out there as received truth. But that is a very big job, one that really requires an organization like Media Matters (I would love to see them create a 50-state strategy). And I'm not really into becoming the "let's-make-fun-of-Pitchfork-Bob-again" blog, although sometimes I just can't let him slide...

So, I want to continue, but it is a time commitment I can't make consistently. Teaching well does take a lot of time (contrary to what you may have read in the comments section of your local newspaper), and, next to my family, teaching kids is my priority. Plus I have music to write (I really do want to do some posting about music here one of these days), and I really need to drag my fat ass into the gym more often.

Also: much as I love cross-posting at Blue Jersey (Rosi is doing a great job over there), that may not happen nearly as often. It actually takes more than just clicking a button or two to make it happen: the formatting of links is especially cumbersome. But if I think it's important to the readership there, I'll make sure to put it up; it's a great community and great resource for our state.

So let's see what happens. Shorter posts maybe, and less frequently. I'll try to check in several times a week.

I don't pretend for a second I'm making a big splash here, but I know for a fact some relatively influential Jerseyians in education, politics, and the media have started checking in every now and then. If I plant a seed... well, who knows? Maybe it was worth it.

See you in the fall...