Promises, Promises: What You Can Expect From Me

In my first message, I committed to telling readers what they could expect from me personally on the Marquette Educator blog.  So without further adieu, I offer the following 20 promises.  Let me apologize in advance for the large number, but if you persevere, you’ll learn precisely what to expect, and can then decide whether to engage or bail.

1. I’ll try to post two times per week, occasionally more, and hopefully never less.
2. Whatever I say will be honest and heartfelt even if dreadfully wrong-minded. You won’t have to ask yourself very often, “Gee, what does he really think?” But you might ask, “What in the world is this guy thinking.
3. Genuine attempts will be made to keep messages brief, clear, and crisp. Since academic types like me tend to qualify almost everything, length and wordiness need to be held in check.
4. I’ll also work at letting my personal voice and style come through.  Professors don’t get much practice writing in the first person or in stating mere beliefs.  But there is one thing I will say about my voice.  For better or worse, I actually talk the way that I write.
5. When appropriate, I’ll take readers inside the rarified professional circles that I travel.
6. Occasionally I’ll share anecdotes and stories. They’ll span the continuum from humorous (at least to me) to what you’ll agree is downright tragic.
7. Some stories will take the form of personal “confessions. My past has, shall we say, been rich and colorful, and as a Catholic, I’m very familiar and adept at admitting my many missteps.
8. From time to time, my religion and spirituality might surface. I can’t apologize when that occurs.  In fact, there will be times when I celebrate both.  This is a Catholic, Jesuit university after all.
9. I’ll often write short posts that ask purposely provocative questions about education.  The intent will be to elicit how readers feel about the issues.
10. Breaking educational developments could trump threads that are already in play or other topics about to launch if the news is relevant enough.
11. My reactions to reader comments will run the gamut. They’ll range from unbridled affirmation to utter disdain and everything in between.  The audience and I will keep each other honest.
12. My daughter will invariably creep into some of my writing. Watching her develop to the ripe old age of four has been like having my own living learning laboratory — good for daddy the educator and researcher — but maybe not so great for her.
13. Some messages will betray my delusion that I can write with comedic genius. Please bear with me in those moments of pure lunacy.  You’ll also need to exercise patience when I try to be witty with titles or otherwise just get too cute.
14. Commitment, determination, perseverance, and resolve matter deeply to me, so I’ll honor those attributes when I encounter them.
15. I’ll write about educators and other professionals and leaders who elevate what they do from a set of skills to an art form.
16. Individuals who approach their work or vocation like a calling rather than as a job will have a special place here.
17. Although I’ll never rise to the level of a public intellectual, I vow never to sink to the level of a public nuisance either.
18. Ideally my writing will bring no shame to the university I love so dearly.
19. I pledge unending gratitude to our College of Education blog team.  Only with their expertise and effort will the Marquette Educator rise above my limited imagination and talent.
20. And finally, I promise never to subject readers to another ridiculously long and excruciating list like this one ever again!

So, there you have it, pretty much everything that you can expect from me.