Recently a colleague asked me to join a group only to find that the group was closed to a select few. Like a castle surrounding a moat, the valuable information was unavailable to me.
Yes, there will be times when closed networks are necessary. For example, I don't want to share my entire professional evaluation with the world since there will be fine, personal points, both positive and challenging, that I want to hold close, but when information could serve all, I believe that those information networks should be open and advertised to all interested.
Closed networks, too-tight procedures, and selected share are all methods that serve exclusivity in a school system rather than inclusivity. If we open up our share with almost all information, you'll find that those who are interested will come, and others will not as we can't all do all things, and we're not even interested in all matters.
Too many closed networks will create exclusivity at schools. I advocate for opening up and advertising most initiatives to all as I believe that open share will create greater, more purposeful work--the kind of collaboration that will move schools forward to serve children well.
