The edu-blog awards prompted a spirited debate on twitter in recent weeks, with many arguing that those of us in education who oppose awards in our schools should oppose the edu-blog awards. One of my favorite tweets in that conversation argued that instead of awards, we in the blogging community should instead write a list of our favorite blogs. I was inspired.
As an aside, I do not oppose supporting my students in seeking external awards: I love to see them compete and triumph outside my school community, and I like to celebrate their successes in doing so. What I worry about, though, is that internal awards, where our students’ teachers select “favorites” among them, is potentially damaging to the strength of our school community. So with that as my standard, I don’t see such a conflict in bloggers who oppose in-school awards celebrating their edu-blogger award nominations.
The problem with any list is once you start it is hard to know how to stop. There will inevitably be many fine blogs left off a list like this, so I offer my apologies to any potential exclusions in advance. This list is is no particular order whatsoever.
1. Peter Papas is a former public school educator, now consultant, who blogs at Copy/Paste: Dedicated to Relinquishing Responsibility for Learning to the Students. The sub-title alone represents its point of view compellingly; this is a great blog. Peter seems to publish 5-10 times a month, and he is unafraid to write lengthy, thoughtful, academic posts which really inform as they inspire. Copy-Paste has great themes which resonate closely with my own writing, but with sharper analysis and more thorough elucidation. Some excellent recent posts include
- Stop Worrying About Shanghai, What PISA Test Really Tells Us About American Students
- Education for Innovation or More Test Prep?
- 9 Questions for Reflective School Reform Leaders
2. David Truss is the independent school (international independent, in Dalian, China) administrator whose blog I currently most admire; he writes at Pair-a-Dimes for Your Thoughts. He posts 2-5 times a month; he writes about his school-work and his educational philosophy interchangeably; and he uses images powerfully. He is also unafraid to write at length. Some recent posts I admired include:
3. George Couros, a Canadian public school principal, is a great inspiration to me, both for his work as architect and soul of Connected Principals and for his individual blog, The Principal of Change. (more…)
