blog about the blog

It’s the third day of year three, a year where we’ve made a commitment to resetting expectations and behavior standards, doing things with intention, and paying even more attention to the details. This goes for all things at Brightworks, from crossing the street to go to park, being able to see the windows and light through the space, and the placement of the art studio, to being more clear about students’ learning to themselves and their parents, taking time to get to know each other in this first arc, and taking time to learn what it means to be a member of the Brightworks community and process.I’m making the same commitment with the Brightworks blog - to be more intentional and more thoughtful in each post. In our third year, the stories are more complicated and nuanced, detailed with why’s and how’s, rather than just the what’s and who’s. The previous two years’ worth of blog posts have shown the face of Brightworks, but sometimes I felt that it really didn’t do justice to the great work under the surface that the collaborators and kids do every day. There are so many stories to tell with more than just pictures and a caption or two. I’m excited to take more time to think about the blog content and write with more care.Which is why I will not be posting every night about that day of school - instead, the blog post about the day will go up by noon on the following day, so that I am able to gather stories from the kids and collaborators and curate the photo collection to tell a more true story with the nitty-gritty details. The blog will tell a more complete story about our days at school, using one of these basic types as a framework:A photoblog: School-wide, brief report of the day with pictures, captions, and short anecdotes that accompany the photos.A band post: An account of one band’s day or couple of days, with pictures and stories about things they did and learned, and more specifics about how their experiences linked to the bigger picture of the arc and/or band goals. Our collaborators will be writing their own blogs and having their students write blogs as well, so this kind of post will include student quotes, collaborator input, anecdotes, learning goals specified and expounded on, and learning explained. Included will be links to student blogs and photos.A curriculum post: This kind of post will follow the school’s progress and reflect on the importance of the way we do things at Brightworks, focusing on school-wide aspects of the arc, community traditions, landmarks in the arc process (including declarations, projects, all-school experiences, field trips and experts), and evolution of the pedagogy. It’s a way to explain why these moments are special, important, and different than other schools, and why it’s a characteristic of a Brightworks experience.The blog is just one of the many hats that I wear here, but I’m dedicated to making things open and clear as a way to both tell the Brightworks story and perhaps be a resource to thinkers and teachers. Here’s to a more intentional thoughtful blog!