Events like the massacre in Paris yesterday make discussions of moral relativism easy. There are two cultures of people in the world: those that leap to stop Ebola from killing millions, even when most of those people are different, poor and far away; and those that want to kill other people out of a twisted sense [...]
What if school was primarily a place where students and teachers co-searched for surprises? We often find the best ideas, the most creative solutions, the profitable surprises, not in the expected, the well-trodden, the known, but in the outliers, the untested, and the unusual. Maybe they have been passed over by others because they are partially [...]
I have had the unique privilege of visiting more than 100 K-12 schools in the last two years, and in virtually every one I found a spark of what the school leaders called “innovation”. A principal or head of school says “you just have to see what Ms. Jones is doing in her classroom; it [...]
From a roiling, fast #satchatwc Twitter chat this morning: Many of the responses to "what one word describes your goals for 2015?" are better than the word "grit". Surely words like joy, sparkle, passion, intent, courage, risk, unbounded, ask, voice, compassion, stretch, iterate, fearless, empathy, uncertainty, reflective, moment, authentic, yet, create, enthusiastic, awesome, overcome, finish, empower, [...]
What are we going to do with Anya? And why are we not teaching her what she needs and wants to learn? Anya Smith is a high school student in the inaugural year of the iDiploma program at Mt. Vernon Presbyterian School designed and operated by Meghan Cureton and Bo Adams. Anya latched on to [...]
Social media is the clothing of a new Goddess of Connectivity...until one realizes just how many people they are connected with and how important each of them are, as an individual within and beyond the collective. Last night flying home from Texas from my last school-team visit of what has been both an extremely busy [...]
PBS News Hour highlighted Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia last night (watch and share the video). If you have managed to go this long not knowing about SLA, now is the time to get up to speed and share with your school colleagues. In #EdJourney I cited SLA for leadership in several areas; I could [...]
What is the nature of human bonds in a time of radically increased connectivity? How and when do we connect and let go, and what are the values we associate with both? How does the availability of near-universal high frequency human interaction drive human evolution as both individuals and "colonies"? No doubt weighty research psychologists and [...]
On Thursday, with family and friends, many of us will turn our reflections on giving of thanks. I woke up this morning thinking of all I have to be thankful for in the area of profession, passion, and interest. My Edu-Thanksgiving list: All of the adult "educator-leaders" (this year I have tried to stop re-enforcing [...]
Is it possible for a school to make a rapid and dramatic shift away from the assembly line model of education? Is it possible in a public school setting with all of the normal demands, political pressures, and budget constraints? Is it possible in an underserved community and a traditionally underperforming school? I have been keeping [...]