In much of my research as a doctoral student in Theory and Social Foundations of Education the authors remind us that before we decide anything, before we plan curriculum, or instructional practices, or even how our classrooms are outfitted, we need to decide WHY we are teaching.

I take this idea to heart, both in my personal life and my life as an educator and scholar. If I am not thinking about the why then I am moving without purpose. Because of this, I want to blog purposefully. I want to declare my goals. I recognize that my goals may evolve over time. (Great! I think I will add that to my list.) Here is where I am starting-

GOALS:

• Talk about education and economic policies and practices
• Talk about educational philosophy (trust me, it’s awesome!)
• Share some great quotes
• Vent a little
• Share some personal stories
• Be kinda funny sometimes
• Probably be fairly enraged at other times
• Evolve

Here is a quote that I think will give a little insight into my educational philosophies.

“Thirsty for national profit, nations, and their systems of education, are headlessly discarding skills that are needed to keep democracies alive. If this trend continues, nations all over the world will soon be producing generations of useful machines, rather than complete citizens who can think for themselves, criticize tradition, and understand the significance of another person’s sufferings and achievements.”

Martha C. Nussbaum – Not for Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities

I hope we can evolve together, learn from each other, open up our creativity, identify problems, work on solutions, and make this world a better place. You know, big goals….