My second full day at Presbyterian Day School in Memphis was just as eventful as the first; this mid-sized elementary school continued to surprised me with an array of truly leading edge programs in character education, global awareness, health and fitness, tailored learning in reading, curriculum development, an exceptional virtual social studies program, and more. [...]
I just got back from a dinner with Jeff McCalla, high school math teacher at St. Mary’s Episcopal in Memphis. Jeff is a past winner of the prestigious Presidential Award of Excellence for Science & Mathematics Teaching. He also does instruction for Texas Instruments and was introduced to me by both Jill Gough from Trinity [...]
I am back in Memphis, and thanks to Jamie Baker and husband Phil for opening a spare bedroom in their wonderful downtown loft home to me. Welcome back to all who have been following my journey, and hopes that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with lots of family and little work. Memphis is quiet on [...]
For all who have so generously given of their time to read my blog so far on this journey, a huge thanks! Knowing that the miles and nights in strange hotels are helping to connect educators and encourage innovative thinking makes it all worthwhile. I am on a week break back home in San Diego [...]
I will make several reports from Presbyterian Day School and the Martin Institute for Teaching Excellence in Memphis; I visited for a day yesterday and will be back the week after Thanksgiving. We talk about revolutionary changes and evolutionary changes and sometimes those terms take on the meaning of time: rapid vs tepid. This is [...]
I made an “unofficial” stop in Huntsville to see colleagues at the Randolph School. We only had a couple of hours, but I have been talking about education innovation with Head Byron Hulsey and Assistant Head for Academic Affairs Jerry Beckman for several years, so we hit the ground running. We were also joined by [...]
It is always tempting to say that we can’t afford to do what other schools can because we don’t have their resources, and you will have that temptation today. The Baylor School sits on more than 600 acres, high above the Tennessee River, and even on a day when rain made it tough to stroll [...]
What is design thinking? A number of schools are using this tool to re-imagine not only what they are going to teach, but how they are going to teach in a rapidly changing world. To be honest, there is not much revolutionary about d-thinking, but it has made classic problem solving more accessible, collaborative, interactive, [...]
As we have noted over the past nine weeks, some organizations innovate because they want to and some because they have to. Head Jack Hall of the Walker School in Marietta, just north of Atlanta, gave me some history of their planning process. “In the 1980’s and 1990’s, Walker had become a highly selective school, [...]
If you want to fill up 12 sheets on yellow pad with detailed notes and your head with great ideas for how to elevate student engagement, spend three hours at Mt. Vernon Presbyterian in Atlanta. I was warned ahead of time that Head Dr. Brett Jacobsen would direct a fire hose at me, but I [...]