Where did EdPop go?
A state of the newsletter ... newsletter
Dear subscribers to EdPop,
A few of you have asked about the status of EdPop and whether or not they were accidentally missing their weekly newsletter. I wanted to send a quick update to say that you have not missed EdPop – there have not been any new issues since the beginning of May – but I have been reflecting on the future of EdPop for the past month. A lot of things happened in May and June for me professionally and I just could not keep up with a weekly issue and so took an unannounced break. May was the end of the Spring semester at the University of Minnesota (where I am an adjunct instructor), and so I had final papers and projects to deal with. At the same time I also started a consulting job at the World Bank, completed the manuscript for my next book (Global Directions in Inclusive Education, Routledge), and also completed four journal articles and one book chapter.
When I started Education Popularis back in the Winter, my intention was to put out a newsletter that featured the stories and voices of educators, education researchers, and education research in a global and accessible format. I wanted a forum for people to discuss, exchange, learn, and engage. I also thought that perhaps this could become a (small) source of income for me as an independent education expert. I’m not sure I accomplished either one of those things – certainly not the latter – but I am pleased that I received positive and enthusiastic feedback from you, the readers.
I also discovered that there are already excellent education-related newsletters, blogs, and news stories that do many of things that I set out to do with this newsletter, albeit perhaps more focused on the United States than I wanted to be with EdPop. Perhaps my favorite source for education-related news, research, and discourse is The Hechinger Report. I’ve also been a long-time subscriber to several excellent blogs, such as from Larry Cuban and David Labaree. Given these and so much more, I do not necessarily want or need to recreate what is already there.
However, I do want to keep EdPop going – even if it doesn’t make any money or become famous. It is a good exercise for me professionally to keep writing, and hopefully it is equally enjoyable for you to read! I also think that even with some excellent and similar things out there already, there is still room for a comparative and international focus on education (my particular area of expertise). I want to keep talking to education professionals and featuring education research – particularly from early career researchers from around the world.
And so, with all that said, I am announcing that Education Popularis will be moving to a monthly issue and will change format. It will still feature discussions with teachers, education professionals, and education researchers, but not in a single long-form article. The EdPop newsletter will also feature links to interesting education news and discussion already happening, curated by me, perhaps even around a specific theme. In other words, there will be a few smaller sections with different things, rather than one article.
The monthly EdPop newsletter will come out on the first Tuesday of every month (therefore, the next newsletter will be released on July 6th). Among other things, the next issue will feature an interview with two Minnesota music educators discussing their experiences teaching music remotely, and then in hybrid format, and having to rebuild their programs going into the next school year.
Thank you to those that have subscribed to this newsletter. When the next newsletter comes out in its new format, I ask that you please help support it by sharing it and encouraging others to subscribe. Also, don’t hesitate to engage in the online discussion that accompanies every EdPop issue.