Yes, it’s finally happening: Fordham’s Gadfly is blogging. How come?

The answer can be glimpsed around our D.C. office, in the education-related chats that occur there. On any given day—in the kitchenette, over sandwiches at lunch, in our meetings, in the corridor—we’re bandying about ideas and issues, working toward conclusions that reflect our goals and mission.

Why not, we thought, take some of these discussions to the internet and invite everyone to join them? Why not expose our conversations for others to see, add themselves into, and improve the final result? We think and argue education policy all the time and suspect that many of you would enjoy being part of the conversation—whether you’re a teacher, a concerned parent, a school board member, or a wonk.

Until now, there was no such forum. Sure, education blogs exist, and many of them are good. We read and learn from them almost every day. But we want to replicate the interactivity of our office water cooler, to show what goes on at Fordham “behind the scenes,” so to speak, well before the next study, the weekly Education Gadfly, the podcast, or the op-ed ever goes primetime.

We expect to have some fun and trust that you will, too.

We hope you enjoy our offerings and feel compelled to join the scrum. For the success of this venture will be gauged by whether, at day’s end, we’re smarter and wiser and better informed about the education policy issues that matter most to America’s kids.