Systems, Rain Forests, Soda, Sugar, and Falconing
February 8, 2013On Saturday I return to the Philippines for an annual trip with high school students. Fresh out of grad school I taught there for year in 1981-82, an experience where I formed some of my first ideas about transformational education. Two stories from that time are embedded in my book, The Falconer, and I…
Follow Mini-EdJourney: Two Weeks in the Philippines!
February 6, 2013On Saturday I will join with fourteen juniors and seniors from Francis Parker School and fly to Dumaguete City, on the island of Negros, 500 miles south of Manila in the Philippines. By Monday we will be gazing down on the lowlands from high on the side of a volcano, hearing the stories of medieval…
Three Chances to Hear Big Lessons From EdJourney at NAIS/NBOA
February 4, 2013If you will be attending NAIS/NBOA in Philadelphia this month; or please share with others at your school who are attending: I will be giving three sessions the week of Feb 25th, my first public reports on the principle findings of my EdJourney across the United States this fall, visiting 64 schools to find out…
1st Graders at MVP Embrace Empathy Through Bus Stop Design
February 1, 2013What are your 1st graders doing today? Heck, what are your high school seniors doing today? Is it as engaging and full of enthusiasm for learning as what you will see on these short videos from Mary Cantwell and Mt. Vernon Presbyterian School? Is the time your students and teachers are spending in their classes…
Design in Nature and the Relevancy of Your School
January 31, 2013Dr. Adrian Bejanof Duke, author of Design in Nature, has been kind enough to help clarify our understanding of how the constructal law will drive the design of future K-12 learning systems. The constructal law requires that systems that carry some flow tend towards a tree-shape design (see earlier posts for clarification). I queried him…
EdJourney Summary and Future Work Up on Whipple Hill Site
January 30, 2013One of the sponsors of my fall EdJourney, Whipple Hill, asked for a trip summary and look ahead. You can go to their blog update page for the full text, but here is a bit of what is in store as I work through the mounds of notes and video I collected: I have been…
Finding Value Never More Important For Both Public and Private Schools
January 29, 2013I have been investigating, and you have been commenting on, the future structure of K-12 education. In my morning paper there is an article about National School Choice Week, particularly important here in San Diego, which has one of the strongest school choice programs in the nation. Families can apply for their students to attend any…
More Thoughtful Comments on Constructal Law and The Structure of Education
January 28, 2013My reflections on the work by Dr. Adrian Bejan on constructal law and its implications for K-12 school and learning continues to draw comments, both from educators and theorists. Here are two thoughtful comments to mull over as we think about how a global learning system, the cognitosphere, will evolve in the years and decades…
Time Out at the Failure Love-Fest
January 27, 2013I wish I were in Philadelphia this weekend, bouncing ideas madly with some of the best educators in America who are attending EduCon in person. But I am forced to watch from afar, view the live-streams and follow the fire hose of Twitter feeds, a window seat voyeur sifting the flow of ideas and vision…
Response From Dr. Adrian Bejan on Design of Nature
January 25, 2013I was honored to receive the following comment from Dr. Adrian Bejan at Duke about my post on his book yesterday. Since many of you may not follow the comments, I will re-post here. I am also asking Dr. Bejan to perhaps weigh in one more time with a clarification that can help us understand or…
Design of Schools and the Nature of Design via Dr. Adrian Bejan: A Fascinating Read
January 24, 2013I have just ground through a fascinating book; “read” would imply I digested every word and that would be a lie. Design in Nature by Adrian Bejan is a deep and rich read, and there were sections with math better left untested by my simple mind. But don’t be scared by the next couple of…
Three Foundational Questions Schools Must Ask
January 22, 2013I was asked last week to put together some ideas for working with a school’s leadership team based on the findings of my visits with more than 60 schools this fall. At a high level, the goal would be to help that team develop the skills to become institutionally comfortable with change. Those of you…
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