Why the Blaze of "Competence"?

A question that I literally never get (but feel compelled to answer anyway) is, "Why is this the Blaze of Competence and not the Blaze of Glory"

Well, let me try to take this story and make it both short-ish and interesting.

I started this blog in a year of my teaching career when I knew that I would be leaving my position. I thought that it would be a good place to vent my frustrations with a school in a safe way, since it was at least nominally anonymous and hell, if they figured out who I was, I was leaving anyway.

When the blog was a twinkle in my eye, two friends and I were talking about the blog I was going to write, and we were talking about how I would go out in a "Blaze of Glory".

This really fit the image I had of myself. I thought that I was a fighter. I had spent most of my teaching career raging against every perceived injustice. Hell, I once led a protest march to keep a principal for getting fired. (To be totally fair, "led" may be a bit of an overstatement. I ran the grill). I would go out, and blog the whole thing, in a Blaze of Glory.

But that wasn't really true. See, that principal, in her next year on the job knew it would be her last. She told one of my friends and co-conspirators that her goal was to have a year that wouldn't give anyone cause to fire her. She said that she would go out in a Blaze of Competence.

And so will I. I hope you enjoy.