by Benjamin J. Kirby
Maybe you saw the guest post from Matt Spence back in November on the Penn State awfulness.
That post -- and the fact that I work with him and am privy to the fact that he is a very good writer -- convinced me to offer him a spot as a guest writer here at the Spencerian. I hope you'll welcome him with open arms and minds.
It's funny: when I started this blog, I kind of imagined it as this great collaborative thing where everybody I knew would submit stories and essays about politics and government and our American life. It never really worked out that way, and that's not such a bad thing. I've enjoyed having the blog all to myself in some respects.
But the truth is, I've never been able to dedicate the time it would take to publish several posts a day. I just don't have that kind of time to produce that kind of content.
And I don't expect that having Matt on board will produce a DailyKos or Saint Petersblog-type result, either (if anything, it'll be more like the great blog Pensito Review, with Trish and Jon and Buck and Helen and Dr. D. and Kevin... but only a little more). Some quick, minor housekeeping things you'll notice: we are adding bylines to the top, just to be clear who is writing what. I'll try to update the "About" page to include Matt's first post. There'll be a new category to the right called "Written by Matt Spence," that will house the archives of his work.
I'll tell you what I told him: I don't have a lot of rules or expectations. It's okay if we disagree. I won't edit him (unless there's something just glaring; trust me, there won't be). He has an interest in politics, yes, and in education, and I think you can expect to see pieces from him with an education-based public policy angle. I am just guessing here, but I also think we'll see stuff from the perspective of a father of three, which I think would be just great. I will tolerate his love of professional atheletics.
He's got a son on the way, and so do I. My hope is that between us, we'll be able to provide you, well, something worthwhile even as our schedules get a bit more hectic.
You can't possibly know what it means to me that you come by and read this blog. Thank you, and once again, a hearty welcome to Matt.
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