Let me just come out and say it, I need more administrators (Principals and Superintendents) to blog. I would be willing to guess that I am not the only educator that feels this way. Below is a hypothetical letter that explains my rationale.
Dear Principal/Superintendent:
Good morning! You are probably wondering why you are receiving this letter out of the blue. Let me quickly explain. I am a 35-year-old high school principal who has many years of educational administration ahead of him. Recently I began blogging on my experiences as a Principal at New Milford High School with the hopes that my ideas and success stories could help other administrators in some fashion. A blog can also be used as a fantastic public relations tool in your school/district. If you were like me a year ago you are probably cringing at the thought of blogging. Thoughts like "I don't have time to do this, I'm not a writer, or I haven't the faintest clue about starting a blog" are probably resonating through your head as we speak. These were the same thoughts I had, but rest assured I am here to help you get started!
Even though I feel that I am relatively good at what I do I will be the first one to admit that I have so much to learn about effective leadership practices and changing the culture of a school to improve student engagement and achievement. This is where you come in. As an experienced administrator you own a wealth of knowledge. You have implemented ideas successfully and have probably encountered some failure along the way. The insight you possess is priceless to administrators like myself. I have seen firsthand how the field of education has shifted from a possessive to sharing culture. My professional growth and development greatly depends on your wisdom, network of resources, and feedback. You have an opportunity to help countless administrators across the globe and leave a lasting impact on the profession.
Sincerely,
Eric Sheninger
The letter above contains a simple, yet powerful message. Sharing knowledge and ideas is pivotal to the growth and development of practicing administrators. It is our experiences that we encounter on the job, not text written in a book or information disseminated in a lecture, that have the most profound impact on changing the learning environment of schools. I leave you with this question. Do you feel more administrators should blog and why? Please share your thoughts because I am sure that I missed many compelling reasons for administrators to blog.
