Interesting Times!

Wednesday, 16 January 2008

It's funny but this is the 800th post and I really feel that a lot of the time I am talking to myself...

Seriously, I know how many of you are reading the blog but I am not really convinced that it is good us of my limited time, other than it gives me a way of sending out key messages. I would welcome feedback on how I could make it a better way of reaching out to everyone who shares my passion, my enthusiasm and wants to release the magic in every classroom and every school, in every colleague and most importantly in every child and young person.
Chris

6 comments:

Oaf said...: What Ho!

Is it 800 messages already? Your daily communique often leaves me feeling warm, fluffy and frankly a little tingly.

Supporting Chris comes high on any decent chaps list of priorities (behind strong drink, pastry comestibles and selecting a fresh cravat at Gieves and Hawkes).

Do not worry about the concept of talking to yourself. I myself am highly experienced in this art, what with Mrs Oaf and the school staff taking no notice whatsoever, despite my new years resolution to talk less rubbish.

My suggestion is to make your blog more pithy (no - I don't have a lisp). Put in some gags and a weekly prize for regular readers. Perhaps 'Tea with Chris' or nice bit of Wensleydale.

Have Chris' crossword
eg 3 down - They can ruin a teachers life (Answer O something something E D)

I did once suggest the Dark Side of Chris which you need to expand. Being unfailingly positive can give the impression of a lack of contact with reality. Be more grumpy on occasions. Have a passionate rant. Make an ill considered remark then apologise (I do this all the time).

The Oaf; 17 January 2008 at 10:44
Anonymous said...: I would love you to continue, I get so much information from your blog. Children's services is such a huge area and it is so easy to miss new initiatives amongst the overload of information. Your blog raises interesting issues - how IS Education Leeds communicating to workers on the ground? How are managers and leaders communicating with others? And how do people start to learn about all the things Education Leeds is doing? I came into children's services a year and a half ago and desperately need this information. Your blog goes some way to fulfilling my needs.; 17 January 2008 at 17:18
Anonymous said...: I'm definitely a fan - I now know far more about what Education Leeds is doing than when I was a councillor. I do quite a bit of public speaking on social media at big conferences and frequently cite you as an example of best practice.; 18 January 2008 at 11:45
Chris Edwards said...: Thanks... it is deeply encouraging to know that it is read and appreciated.I would happily have tea with you OAF!
Chris; 18 January 2008 at 16:51
Chris Edwards said...: Hi Stuart,thanks for the feedback and the positive comments about the blog.
Chris; 18 January 2008 at 16:52
Chris Edwards said...: Hi Anonymous,
We do need to connect with those colleagues who work so hard at the front line and make such a difference to children and families. We need to listen and shape our provision to support them rather than focusing at the strategic and bureaucratic level.
Keep the faith
Chris; 18 January 2008 at 16:54

Brilliant Quotes!

“I must accept life unconditionally. Most people ask for happiness on condition. Happiness can only be felt if you don't set any condition.”
Margaret Lee Runbeck

“Happiness is not in our circumstances but in ourselves. It is not something we see, like a rainbow, or feel, like the heat of a fire. Happiness is something we are.”
John B. Sheerin

“Most true happiness comes from one's inner life, from the disposition of the mind and soul. Admittedly, a good inner life is difficult to achieve, especially in these trying times. It takes reflection and contemplation and self-discipline.”
William L Shirer

“The pursuit of happiness is a most ridiculous phrase: If you pursue happiness you'll never find it.”
C.P. Snow

“Doubly rich is the man still boyish enough to play, laugh and sing as he carries and emanates sunshine along a friendly road.”
Charles R. Wiers

"Faith is not a shelter against difficulties, but belief in the face of all contradictions."
Paul Tournier

"Convictions are the mainsprings of action, the driving powers of life. What a man lives are his convictions."
Francis C. Kelley

"To do anything in this world worth doing, we must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger; but jump in, and scramble through as well as we can."
Sydney Smith

"It is often just as sacred to laugh as it is to pray"
Charles R. Swindoll

"Things never go so well that one should have no fear; and never so ill that one should have no hope"
Turkish proverb

"Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself"
Chinese proverb

"Don't bother to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself."
William Faulkner

"In times of change, learners will inherit the earth,while the learned will find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists"
Eric Hoffer

"Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans."
John Lennon

"Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation."
Robert F. Kennedy

"The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problems."
Mahatma Gandhi

"Determine that the thing can and shall be done, and then we shall find the way."
Abraham Lincoln

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."
Martin Luther King Jr.

"There is nothing in life so difficult that it cannot be overcome. This faith can move mountains. It can change people. It can change the world."
Norman Vincent Peale

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe."
Albert Einstein

"Life isn't measured by the number of breaths we take but the moments that take our breath away."
Anonymous

"Patience and perseverence have a magical affect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish."
John Quincy Adams

"Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires courage. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and woman to win them."
Ralph Waldo Emerson