If the end point is the same, but we all start from a different place, what does that say about our paths to success? I have increasingly used the metaphor of a "North Star" around which schools can build a shared vision of where they want to get to in terms of "great learning". We [...]
Can a few simple rules guide our personal and professional decision pathways? Can they help alleviate the fear that I am going to leap into a bottomless chasm of future uncertainty? Can they get us past the chokepoints of inertia that stand in the way of following a true passion? I think so. A few [...]
Can students create their own Advanced Placement course? I guess so! I just talked to Katherine Jones and Anya Smith, two juniors at Mt. Vernon Presbyterian School in Atlanta. They wrote, developed, submitted, are "taking", and have now been accredited for an AP Language Arts course. According to them it appears to be the first student-written [...]
In the aftermath of Paris, people of good will are wrestling with perhaps the existential question of our time: can we fight our way to peace, or does the solution lie in following those greatest teachers of our time—Gandhi and King—who argued that we can never “drive out darkness with darkness in kind, but only with [...]
A couple of years ago, Bo Adams told me that at Mt. Vernon Presbyterian School they decided to turbocharge instructional rounds by asking each teacher to visit another classroom for a quick three-minute pass-by observation, followed by a feedback Tweet to a common hashtag. I loved this idea and have shared it a number of [...]
Two remarkable, leading schools I know of are undergoing leadership changes. Many people have spent time, treasure, and, most importantly, professional risk capital to lever these schools off of the a worn out path and on to visionary trajectories of the future of learning. Now comes the test: will these schools survive a leadership transition [...]
Why does your school community still charge itself for expensive textbooks when fully accredited resources are available for free? For some schools the answer is simple: they are controlled by local and state requirements to use certain books. For other schools where these overly prescriptive regulations do not apply, news out of the Hewlett Foundation [...]
THE most critical element on the path to school innovation is to align precious resources with a forward leaning vision. If your school recognizes the need for innovation, for changing the assembly line model of learning, it is NOT enough to just talk about it. Sooner or later your customers will realize the disconnect between [...]
Let’s call her Jane. I met her last night. Jane is a white 9th grader from a well-to-do New York City family who attends what we all would call an “elite” independent high school. Her parents passionately believe in the power of a good education, as well as a well-rounded and balanced life. Jane has [...]
I just added two very important slides to my deck, or arrows in my quiver. Last weekend at a Unity Church service we attended with friends in Santa Fe, the minister selected two quotes which hold both personal power and a real message for educators. The Tao te Ching tells us: "To attain knowledge, add [...]