Transparency of Tweeting & Blogging

Chris Smeaton is the Superintendent of Holy Spirit Catholic Schools in southwest Alberta. He is one of the few superintendents in Alberta that I know actively Tweets and blogs.
I wish more Superintendents and School Board Trustees would blog and Tweet so that we would all better understand what is on their minds. Ultimately, I want more transparency and more sharing.
Check out this post by Chris Smeaton on Provincial Achievement Tests. Here's an excerpt that got my attention:

So why don’t parents just excuse their children from writing these exams as they legally have the ability to do so? Simple- it impacts the results for the school and system as excused writers count as zero in the calculations. This can be extremely significant and potentially damaging, especially if a small cohort is writing. Those students excused automatically bring down the “rating” without recourse. The focus on those external sources is also why teachers and/or schools use the PAT result for part or all of the final grade. Some students may not necessarily be as motivated to study for a test that means nothing for their own mark. It is a vicious circle!

Ultimately it takes courage to put yourself out their for real on Twitter or blogging. It's a hell of a lot easier to say nothing and wait for others to lead the way. It's infinitely more safe to defend the status quo and wait for someone else to tell you that it's okay to innovate or improve.
It's safer to wait for the memo that gives you permission to change than it is to write your own blog post that demands it of yourself & others.