Three Golden Rules

I'd like to propose some positive principles for the blog. I would ask that everyone who participates is prepared to say, when necessary, these three sentences:

"I'm sorry, I got that wrong"
"You made a really good point there"
"What do you think?"

I've mentioned these before - my father learned them on a management course in a slightly different form - and at that point I applied them to the School. I said that the School needed to learn to say these sentences: to admit error and the possibility of error, to praise individual students, and to ask non-rhetorical questions with real curiosity. I still believe that that is correct.

But maybe a function of the blog is for us, as members of the School (or perhaps in some cases "Honoured Alumni"!), to learn how to be the change we want to see. We need to learn these conversational skills and use them. In addition to this, if we have disputes in future, we can refer to these sentences for a way out.

They're just short-hand, of course, and need to be interpreted intelligently. If I genuinely believe that what I am saying is right, then I should not say "I'm sorry, I got that wrong". But I might say, "I'm sorry that we're having this argument. Perhaps I've misunderstood your position. Can you explain it in different words?" Or I might say, "I've often found your remarks helpful in the past, but this appears to me to be wrong, because ..."

There may be those who cannot agree to these sentences. If so, now is the time to argue the case!

Read more

Message to Fellow "Old Bloggers"

You may have noticed that our list of members on the right has shrunk! Google has taken over Blogger.com, which means that all blog members will have to create a Google account, replacing the old sign-in. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. I've put it off as long as possible, but they forced my hand. I've just done this and it was very straightforward.

Apparently the "New Blogger" has lots of exciting bells and whistles and will enable everyone to achieve full self-realization at the click of a mouse ... or something.

On another matter, I would like to tidy up the main page of the blog. There are some very long postings - for which, thank you all - and these presently make the front page look a bit off-putting. So what I propose to do is to add a bit of code to each post that exceeds 200 words, so that the rest of the post will be hidden. If the intro is of interest to readers, they can click "read more" and get the full text. I've been doing this to my own posts for a while, and I feel that it makes the blog more attractive. Anyone who has an objection should add their comment below ... if I don't receive any good reasons not to Operation Clean-up will get under way after the weekend.

Also, if people can put pictures in, it does brighten things up! There is a little "add image" button (between the "ABC" and "eraser" buttons) which allows you to do this. Google Image Search is fantastic if you want to find an amusing or relevant picture. Just enter a word and see what appears!

Read more

Charting the Blog

There have been some questions recently about the blog usage. This chart shows that in January we had 675 separate visits, the most in any month. Other stats show that the 'average' visitor looks at three pages and stays for 8 minutes.

Probably about half of the visits are from regular contributors, but there are a growing number of other people who read the blog without taking part.

I hope more of you will feel able to participate. Someone who is a former member of a similar organization has just told me that this type of site would not have been tolerated there. That it is tolerated in the School is a considerable sign of hope.

It's your freedom - use it or lose it!

Read more

Principles

When I met with Mr Lambie a few weeks ago to discuss this web site I said that I would establish some guiding principles. Here are some, along the lines of Socrates' Daemon which told him what not to do.

1. Don't Break Confidentiality
One of the dangers of the medium is that people become more prone to gossip than they would otherwise be. People need to feel able to speak in School gatherings without fear of it being repeated elsewhere. Having said that, there are many cases where someone will say something that sparks off a thought that needs to be pursued. There's no reason that this can't be done without a traceable direct quote. We do need to be able to speak about a principle.

2. Don't Violate Anonymity
If we know or can guess at someone's identity this information should not be shared around. It is no business of anyone else if someone wants to participate anonymously.

3. Don't Infringe Copyright Without Permision
This would include course material and private communications.

4. Don't Criticise
Another principle of the School is that one should not criticise others. If people want to give vent to their feelings, they probably know where to do it. We can still have a clear sense of what's right and we don't need to accept wrongs, no matter how old or practiced they are within the organisation.

Apart from this I think that people can use their own common sense when taking part in the web log. If you have any comments, please let me know. Or if you would like to make suggestions, please do.

Read more

Handy Blogging Instructions

I've added some tips for Blogging beginners. Click on "Read more!" below ...

How to read comments
Click on the "Comments" link below the post. It might say "2 Comments" to indicate the number of previous comments. These are remarks made by viewers and members of the blog who have thoughts on the topic raised.

How to make a comment
Click on the "Comments" link below the post. On the right, you will see a window "Leave your comment". Write the comment in there.
There are 3 options below. If you have a Blogger account, select the first button. You can enter your username and password and it will appear below the other comments with your ID attached. Or you can select Other and enter a name or alias (no need to create an ID). Or you can select Anonymous.

How to get a Blogger account
The aim of the Blogger.com site is to encourage people to create blogs (ie web-logs) of their own. This can be a bit confusing if all you want to do is add comments. But it's free and simple. Click on the Blogger link at the top left of the page (or go to www.blogger.com) and follow the instructions - it takes 5 minutes. You don't need to actually do anything with the resulting blog, and nobody can see your personal information.

How to become a member of Free the Teaching
Email kevin@caburn.eclipse.co.uk and Kevin will send you an invite. You need to follow the link (once only) and accept the invite. If you have a Blogger account already you can sign in, if not you have to create one (Sorry!) Then your Blogger ID (your alias) will appear on the front page of Free the Teaching, and you can make new posts of your own.

How to add a post
This is a tiny bit confusing. You need to visit www.Blogger.com (click on the Blogger link on the top right). Then you enter your username and password. Now you should see "At the Crossroads" and a + sign next to it with "New Post". Click on the + and away you go. You can delete or edit it if you don't like the results.

Email kevin@caburn.eclipse.co.uk if you have any problems.

Read more