i stepped in meta
a blog about blogs
Reflecting on my summer blogs, I really like them. I'm proud of them. I'm not necessarily proudest of the Teacher Corps assigned ones, though, to the extent that I'd consider using two different blogs, one for Teacher Corps-required posts, another for my own logorrhea. The blog is supposed to be a space for spontaneous creation and instant publication, and I feel like setting parameters for posting (can certainly) curtail(s) creativity. That said, I know I'm far more blogalicious than many other Teacher Corps characters and the extra impetus(/requirement) gets blogs done.
I have also received some very troubling news re: blogs. Apparently, Dr. Mullins, Teacher Corps swengali and personal hero, has expressed some interest in silencing the blogs, either not requiring them as part of the coursework or else not linking them at the official Ole Miss site. I hope this does not happen.
Part of the mission statement of the School of Education is that educators are "reflective professionals." No forum provides better public reflection than blogs. Two concerns have been levied: lewdness (see Molina's humping comments) and public criticism of the program. It seems like the concern is that racy or critical blogs will dissuade potential recruits, an idea which seems pretty ludicrous to me. I like being in the company of funny people, and I like being in the company of critical people. I do not like being in the company of people who are never either. As a potential applicant, I would be far more enamored with the program by those blogs which are the raciest, most critical, and generally best (mine), than by the ones which ceremoniously speak program rhetoric and are boring too. It's a good program and there's nothing to hide. Nothing, then, should be hidden.
Publicity, from blogs or from anything else, focuses attention. Teacher Corps should welcome that attention, have the courage to admit to being cognizant of its flaws, and ultimately trust that all of the people here are so Gibraltar that criticism will shore up the program rather than erode its credibility. I don't want to be in a program where the roaches scatter once the light's turned on.
Reflecting on my summer blogs, I really like them. I'm proud of them. I'm not necessarily proudest of the Teacher Corps assigned ones, though, to the extent that I'd consider using two different blogs, one for Teacher Corps-required posts, another for my own logorrhea. The blog is supposed to be a space for spontaneous creation and instant publication, and I feel like setting parameters for posting (can certainly) curtail(s) creativity. That said, I know I'm far more blogalicious than many other Teacher Corps characters and the extra impetus(/requirement) gets blogs done.
I have also received some very troubling news re: blogs. Apparently, Dr. Mullins, Teacher Corps swengali and personal hero, has expressed some interest in silencing the blogs, either not requiring them as part of the coursework or else not linking them at the official Ole Miss site. I hope this does not happen.
Part of the mission statement of the School of Education is that educators are "reflective professionals." No forum provides better public reflection than blogs. Two concerns have been levied: lewdness (see Molina's humping comments) and public criticism of the program. It seems like the concern is that racy or critical blogs will dissuade potential recruits, an idea which seems pretty ludicrous to me. I like being in the company of funny people, and I like being in the company of critical people. I do not like being in the company of people who are never either. As a potential applicant, I would be far more enamored with the program by those blogs which are the raciest, most critical, and generally best (mine), than by the ones which ceremoniously speak program rhetoric and are boring too. It's a good program and there's nothing to hide. Nothing, then, should be hidden.
Publicity, from blogs or from anything else, focuses attention. Teacher Corps should welcome that attention, have the courage to admit to being cognizant of its flaws, and ultimately trust that all of the people here are so Gibraltar that criticism will shore up the program rather than erode its credibility. I don't want to be in a program where the roaches scatter once the light's turned on.
posted by anderson heston at 12:16 PM
1 Comments:
Fabulous defense of the MTC blogs; when Jake told me the program might squelch them, it definitely struck me as the ol' surface-versus-substance Mississippi line.
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