On a completely unrelated note…I love the blog. I started blogging over a year ago out of desperation in dealing with some terrible management and discipline problems that I had never faced before. Since then I’ve been wishy washy about blogging but recently decided to return with purpose as I’m looking at starting a PhD program in C&I with an emphasis in PD and Teacher Ed. Research in that field somehow landed me hear and I’ve read every post from beginning to end. You’ve got some great stuff going on here. Thanks for sharing. I’ll be posting lessons and joining more in the conversations come Fall!

It’s a shame to see good ideas disregarded for a controllable factor like tone.

On the other side, Dan, watching tone so as not to be an intentional ass is different than becoming a mealy-mouthed pushover … but I have little fear that you’ll swing too far in the other direction. ;)

That person no longer follows me on Twitter and kicked me off of following their private updates. 1 minute before that I was being praised for asking a “good” question (If Jesus was on twitter, how many followers would he have?) by the same person.

Abrasive? Confrontational? Perhaps. But I certainly wouldn’t think twice about asking that question again.

I take an amazingly (and genuinely) polite tone when people I disagree with are open to dialog with me. When they are not (or act like they are) and I feel their ideas are bogus, the confrontational and abrasive side of me doesn’t hesitate to come out and play.

1. You are willing to be as ruthless (if not more) on what you are doing (esp. in the classroom) as you are on others;

2. The roots of your comments are in trying to keep it real;

3. Most importantly, you’re willing to admit you might have gone too far.