Writing again!

I haven't posted anything here in over a year.  I have written several articles during that time, but I chose not to publish them.  Sometimes, they went unfinished.  Sometimes, I couldn't find the right words.  Sometimes, I didn't publish them because I felt like the words I wrote were too negative.  I felt like I was constantly finding things that were not going well.  After fifteen long months of observation and introspection, I am ready to publish again.

After 23 years in the education biz, I changed districts for the fourth time.  I felt like I understood that things could be different and I would be able to handle any/all the differences between my new district and my previous employers.  How different could it be between neighboring districts of similar size and demographics?  I was wrong.  I wondered if my lack of understanding the rationale for the differences was perhaps a negative vibe that had found its way into my soul as an educator.  (It hasn't.  I simply stand firm in my belief that we should strive for better!)

For years, I felt like I ran through each day with optimism and hope for improvement.  I tackled problems positively and laughed through the successes and mistakes.  I tried to model forward-thinking and I tried to squash TWWADDI (That's the way we've always done it) mentality.

I looked back through several years of posts.  The overarching theme has been my deep seated belief that we can always improve what we do in education.  Sometimes I highlighted great things that I witnessed.  Sometimes I made observations about current realities.  My posts in 2017 and 2018 seemed to have a deeper feeling of frustration.  While writing can be a therapeutic means of reflection, I made a choice to stop publishing my pieces.  I didn't want to write my opinions without sufficient evidence.

It has been two years.  I am ready to publish again.  I am ready to note wonderful things that are happening in my world.  I am also ready to examine things that need to be better.  In this profession, like no other that I know, we struggle with systemic change and we don't learn from our neighbors.

It has also been two years since my return to the classroom.  I did some things really well as a principal.  I also had some glaring weaknesses.  Don't we all!  At this point, I can see what I would do better as a campus leader more clearly than ever before.

I am really looking forward to this writing endeavor!