A New Dialogue

My first reaction to President Liebowitz and Tim Spears' comments on this here MiddBlog (pertaining to Justice Roberts' visit) was fear. It's that feeling like you've gotten in trouble in middle school. My second reaction was that surely administrators' eyes on this site would scare away an semblance of a genuine student opinion on this site. After all, who wants to share their thoughts on the latest move in Old Chapel when they know Ron is watching?

But the more I think about it, the more I am convinced that this presents an opportunity for both students and administrators. One my goals in creating this website was to foster community. I thought of community as between students but why not include in the greater school community? Granted this site is still in its early stages, this presents an opportunity for students to share openly what's on their mind and for administrators to respond genuinely through a new direct channel of communication. Not everyone wants to go meet with the President during office hours. Not everyone wants to chat up Tim Spears in McCullough. Not everyone is into writing a nitpicky editorial in The Campus either.

Blogging as an online medium is really a method of communication and community. The idea of posting and commenting facilitates dialogue in an informal and comfortable online setting. And so I issue an open invitation to students to post their thoughts without incrimination but in the spirit of inquiry and improving the school. I also issue an invitation for all administrators, faculty, and staff to both initiate dialogue and respond to students in a less formal but still important way.

Best wishes,
Ryan Kellett