Today a friend asked “Are you writing these days?” I told her about this daily posting on my blog and how it was filling in space for other writing I might otherwise be doing.
She said “That’s too much. Why don’t you write a post saying it’s too much and you will now only write once a week?” The thought of not following through on my publicly stated commitment left me with a hollow feeling inside.
That got me thinking about new years resolutions I haven’t stuck with through the years and if I’ll stick with this year’s set. Then I thought about compromises I have accepted in my work, as better than nothing.
Not sticking to commitments eats away at my sense of self efficacy and my spirit. This was what got me to start this blog in the first place–seeing colleagues wanting to fold and walk away…feeling the same myself on too many days.
This is why I will still write a blog post every day–to support our spirit to persevere with wisdom, insights and tools from many places. Starting next week, I will focus on what we can still do–stories and ideas from teachers and principals who find cracks in the system, spaces where they can do what they believe matters for kids’ learning and lives.
I hope to gather a collective body of knowledge from the field of what we can still do. I hope this will help us see (in real terms and by example) what is still possible. Every day I write a post on this blog, I remember the urgency to do what is right and good for our kids. We cannot let that work disappear.
No giving up yet. It’s only January 2. It’s the start of a new year.
Keep at it, Marjorie! I’ve only had time to read a few, regrettably, but will look forward to reading the complete oeuvre once the book comes out!
Hey, Tim. The point is for people to read whenever they feel like it so thanks for doing what I’d hoped.