Is it a bit stupid to start a post about the inaccuracy of crystal ball predictions by making a prediction? Probably. I have been saying for some time that we have entered an era of human interaction that is fundamentally different from any time in the past. In the past, big, impactful ideas that drive [...]
Given: student-centered, deeper learning is easier to deliver at lower grade levels. Given: College admissions practices continue to keep high schools more "in the box" of a worn out learning model. What if we stopped wringing our hands over things we can't control, and changed what we can? That appears to have been the case [...]
I just made two new slides that seem to sum up pretty much the argument for, and the content of, my new book, THRIVE: How Schools Will Win the Education Revolution, due out in the early fall. Whether we like it or not, this is the hand we have been dealt as K-12 educators today [...]
My new book, THRIVE: How Schools Will Win the Education Revolution, won't be out until the fall, but I just had to share at least one bit of advanced praise, from Andy Calkins, Director of education innovation leading Next Generational Learning Challenges: Imagine you are climbing a mountain with a large group of people. Hard [...]
What does fighting a terror-based insurgency have in common with running a school? Fortunately the daily events are very different. But school leaders can learn critical lessons about managing large, complex organizations from how military, and increasingly business, leaders are learning to adapt to rapidly changing challenges. Retired General Stanley McCrystal led American forces in [...]
In his new book, Technology vs Humanity, futurist Gerd Leonhard explores the really big changes that are driving fundamental shifts in how we all lead our lives, and may, within our own lifetimes, challenge the very paradigm of what it means to be human. These shifts will have tremendous impact on the role and relevance [...]
How might we educate the rising generation to be more empathetic and understanding of what it means to be an American? How might we help heal increasingly deep divides by allowing young people to experience our world through the eyes of “the other” in ways that are both intellectually and emotionally engaging? If you have [...]
What is the nature of empathy? Can we really see through the eyes of those with radically different life experiences? Are we getting any better at this critical social construct, or just hoping that we will? Over the winter break I read two profound must-read books, written by or about women who have lived lives [...]
Over a relaxing holiday break I had plenty of un-scheduled time to just hang out with family. As I get older, hopefully a bit more reflective and a smidgen wiser, I know how sacred are these times when we set aside our devices and "things we have to do", and just be together. And play [...]
I am doubling down on the critical role of real strategy for schools. I have read a lot of school strategic plans, and most share one thing in common: they are not strategic at all. They are almost all tactical. Strategy is, simply, about making choices that gives your school or district the best opportunity [...]
