One of the very best education blogs is EduShyster. When I first read it, I fell in love with her humor, wit, tone, and deep intelligence. My blog is three years old, and so is hers.

For the third birthday of her blog, she decided to describe the origin and life of her blog and how it changed her.

It is one of her very best posts, and I urge you to read it.

As you may or may not know, EduShyster began as an anonymous blogger. There was much speculation about who she (or he) was. Eventually we learned that she is Jennifer Berkshire. When she unmasked herself (and she explains why in this post), the tone of her column changed. But she has always had that great sense of humor.

EduShyster may well have changed the debate about charter schools in Massachusetts. She turns out to be a smart investigative journalist.

I have often thought that one of the reason we (the supporters of public schools) will defeat corporate reform (aside from its repeated flops whenever it is actually implemented) is that we have great humorists like EduShyster and Peter Greene. Once a movement becomes an object of ridicule, it is over. And when our Jonathan Swifts do their work without pay, while theirs are well-paid and amply funded, you know who has real passion, commitment, and staying power.