The problem was, after declaring in November I was hanging up my blogging hat (“Pretty much, anyway,” I added in the headline, just in case) and I had a no-pressure month during which I enjoyed the freedom from deadlines and putting the right words in the right order, I found myself reading something and thinking, “OK, I have to write about that.” Then I remembered, “Nope, you can’t.” I shrugged and moved on. Still, I kept adding new links to my long list of stories I might want to write about. Old habits die hard.
I interrupted my blogging hiatus in December to post about the TUSD decision to get rid of the Freedom Center-created high school course, Ethics, Economy, and Entrepreneurship, for good and all. I mean, I wrote the piece that brought the course to the public’s attention, so I should be the guy who writes about its demise. However, the course is still being taught in three local school districts, so the battle isn’t over.
Meanwhile, stories about charter problems in Arizona and around the country kept popping up on my desktop, along with items about curriculum, federal spending on education and bills proposed for the new state legislative session. Since I stopped blogging two months ago, I added more than fifty new entries to my list of links.
The tips of my fingers began itching. My keyboard beckoned. So I’m back.
But I’ve decided, instead of a steady output of two to four posts a week, I’ll post on a “Need to write” basis — only when I say to myself, “I really need to write about this.” Right now that sounds like once a week, maybe twice a week if the spirit moves me.
That means it’ll be harder to find my posts among the steady stream of postings on The Range. If you’re a Regular Range Rover (Nice turn of phrase. Maybe I should trademark it), that’s no problem. But if you mainly drop by to look for my posts, it can be an issue.
One solution is to bookmark my page on the Weekly which lists all my posts starting with the most recent. You can check occasionally to see if I’ve posted something new. Also, I usually link to my posts of Facebook or Twitter, so you might find them there. Or if you know how to create an RSS feed (I’ve never done it, so you’ll get no help from me), you can get an email notification when I post something new.
This article appears in Dec 27, 2018 – Jan 2, 2019.
Do us all a favor … stay retired …
Danehick Sux, feel free to avoid doing any of the things that David mentions in order to find his posts. Meanwhile the rest of us need MORE media coverage of education, not less. And we need more from people who actually check their facts. Don’t get me wrong, especially around election time in TUSD I disagree heartily with many of David’s choices–but this town needs coverage of this issue urgently. Our legislature continues its dirty tricks of pushing ideological monitoring of teachers, charter schools that create out-of-the-box riches for their founders (who also conveniently sit on boards that regulate those same charters) and Koch brothers’ ideology in a million different guises and formats for all–and those of us who actually have or had kids in public school need to know these things. Now that creeping Kochmania is in our public schools (from Tim Vanderpool’s original work about this at the university level years ago until David’s coverage of it now in our public schools, the Weekly has been ahead of the curve on this one) we need the disinfectant of sunshine. If you don’t, you don’t have to read the articles. But I’m glad education will still be getting some coverage in the Range.
We should all be thankful for Mr. Safier’s article on the Freedom Center-created high school course, Ethics, Economy, and Entrepreneurship and the decision of TUSD to eliminate it from the Curriculum. This “Course” was nothing more than propaganda for the For-Profit Privatization of every aspect of our Economy…including Education. Thank you Mr. Safier!!
Consider the Arizona University System….a paradigm of the Freedom Center’s Ethics, Economy, and Entrepreneurship.
The Arizona University System For-Profit Scam!!
Article 11, Arizona Constitution: Section 6
“The university and all other state educational institutions shall be open to students of both sexes, and the instruction furnished shall be as nearly free as possible….”
University Instruction “free as possible”? What a SCAM!!
The Arizona University System in a For-Profit Business in maintaining a Bloated and Highly Overpaid Administration and Faculty as evidenced by the UofA President Bobby Robbing with a Salary/Benefits over a Million Dollars and living, at his request, in a University purchased off campus house costing $1.3 Million.
Qualified Arizona residents cannot attend the University because of cost, and when there, are skipping meals, on Campus, because of cost as well!!
Again…WHAT A MONEY MAKING SCAM!!!!!
A University Education must be available to ALL Qualified Arizona Citizens at NO COST with Health Care provided, as well, at NO COST!!
Wake Up Arizona Voters and change our Political/Social System to a Representative Social Democracy.
Gosh, if David actually did check his facts on both sides of the aisle, his education blogging WOULD be a great service in the Godforsaken educational wasteland of the state of Arizona, but he doesnt, so it isnt.
The day he starts attending every TUSD Board meeting (and staying till the bitter end where the items they dont want the public paying attention to are often tucked away under misleading headings on the agenda a bitter end which may be close to 11pm) and the day he begins calling not just Stegeman but his pals Kristel and Adelita on their dubious initiatives, Ill consider that he has passed from the land of partisan pleading to actual reporting. Until then, concerned citizens will need to be checking up on him and posting alternative perspectives in the comment streams.
So thanks, David, for the heads up on how to track your postings. Will do.