Looking for a Free Tee-shirt? Try the Marquette Educator Trivia Contest on for Size

by Bill Henk

OK, here’s the deal.  The first three readers who answer all or the most blog trivia questions below will receive a College of Education tee-shirt.

And this is no ordinary tee — it’s got long sleeves, official Marquette styling, and a special quote on the back.  I can just hear the wild woo-hooing, unbridled shrills of joy, and thunderous applause out there already!

Just the same, try to control yourself long enough to complete the quiz.  Note that every answer can be found in a blog post, so if you’re willing to do some searching, you can get them all correct.

What Inquiring Minds Want to Know About Our Blog

I think it’s only fair to share with Marquette Educator readers the secret, behind-the-scenes truth about how the blog has fared so far.   It’s a question I get asked a lot nowadays.

Please know that I take no perverse pleasure in keeping readers in suspense.  But some background information does seem to be in order first.

Part of the story is numerical, and I’ll begin there.  But the other part centers on the comments that readers send to me directly by email rather than post publicly.  I’ll tell the second part of the story in a later post.

Navigating to the Numbers

For the time being, inquiring readers will want to know that there is a dark and sinister bloggosphere of statistics that illuminates cyberspace.   There is a software feature we bloggernauts can use to check the success of our missions called “Blog Stats,” which sounds suspiciously like “Star Wars” to me.  Anyway, it resides on my bloggernaut’s  “Dashboard,” a mission control panel whose sheer complexity resembles the bridge of the Starship Enterprise.

(Note to Readers: These absurd exaggerations serve to enhance  the outer space metaphor, and are only justifiable on the grounds that writing is a form of artistic expression allowing creative license).

Ten Moo-ving Excuses For Why I Blog

Basically I need something more to do like a hole in the head!

Maybe it’s because I recently spent a few hours at the Wisconsin State Fair, but the way I see it, blogging is like owning a dairy farm – a lot of work, you pretty much live in the barn, and you can never really take a vacation.

Making matters worse, being a dean at Marquette is full-time work and then some.  I already feel like I’m forever in 24/7/365 mode.

So why blog then?

Believe me, it’s a question I’ve already asked myself several times even though I’m just getting started.  For what it’s worth, here are the Top 10 answers I’ve got.

MPS SUPERintendent: The Sequel

In my role as an education dean here in the city, I’m often asked, “Do you really think that MPS can be fixed?”  Well, either people ask me that or tell me that it can’t be.  My response to both is the same, “With exactly the right changes, the Milwaukee Public Schools can succeed.”

This belief depends on the district not being as broken as many think and on whether the will and skill exist to do business in very new and different ways.  It’s impossible to know, but no matter. Any significant resurgence of our public school system will depend, first and foremost, on obtaining exactly the right kind of executive leadership.

Seeking a ‘Super Superintendent’ for MPS: Clark Kent and Wonder Woman, Where Are You?

Faster than a “speeding” school board meeting!
More powerful than a loco mob of protesters!
Able to leap collective bargaining at a single bound!

“Look up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s the MPS Superintendent!”

Yes, a strange visitor from another city who came to Milwaukee with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal humans… defender of curriculum alignment and fiscal stability, champion of equal educational rights, valiant, courageous fighter against the forces of ignorance and illiteracy who wages a never-ending battle for student achievement, stakeholder engagement, and urban school excellence.

OK, it’s probably bad form to parody the search for a new superintendent of the Milwaukee Public Schools for at least two reasons.

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.

How My School Daze Began: A First Confession

My first day of school gave exactly zero indication that one day I’d be an educator.  Although my behavior back then might have predicted many things, becoming a teacher definitely wasn’t one of them.

Excitement filled the air as my mother walked me to Hillsdale Elementary School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that bright and sunny September day.  I honestly do remember the scene like it occurred yesterday.

No five-year old could have been more excited about starting kindergarten than me.