Thanks for taking a minute to click to my new blog site. I hope you will subscribe to the RSS feed or email updates; I know I have been powerfully impacted since I started keeping up with a select group of education and innovation bloggers in the last year. It is a fabulous way to tap into what others are thinking without taking too much time out of your busy schedule.
I will be writing mostly about schools and innovation within our system of education. I have been spending a great deal of time in deep reading and will relay thoughts on the top ideas that I find from others about how we can most effectively offer transformational education to our students, and what that means in terms of school finance and operations. I will also try to use the 30,000+ hours I have spent in implementing change across just about every aspect of school life to help bridge that difficult gap between educators who are great at teaching but maybe not trained in how to implement change, and the change/innovation folks who maybe don’t fully grasp why schools are not like other businesses.
I hope you will add to the conversation, and thanks for checking in and (hopefully) following my blog.
Grant, congratulations. Looking forward to reading more…
Thanks, Kathy. I have a number of articles ready to go once the launch is official later this week.
I’m a follower! Already subscribed to RSS and placed you in my folder: Must Reads #1 Top Tier. So glad that you are sharing your wisdom and fabulous thinking/doing in this venue.
Subscribed to the blog. Good luck with this Grant!
Bob
Thanks, Bob. Nice to finally get to a place where I can be a part of the conversation!
Bravo, Grant! I cannot wait to read, think and learn more with you. Hope to see you soon…jill
Thanks, Jill. On to new ideas and adventures!
Go, Grant! I’m looking forward to reading your reflections and learning alongside you.
Thanks so much; am looking forward to being closer to the center of gravity of these conversations!
From a fresh high school graduate’s point of view: values, morals and ethics being integrated into the very roots of our educational systems could bring much effective growth and positve tranformation to the decisions and actions we see youths and adolescents making in their lives and their educations today 🙂 Thats just my two cents.
Look forward to all thats to come.
Grant, I have subscribed and look forward to your posts.
Grant- I’m glad I was included in the email about your blog. I look forward to reading more!
You go, Buddy! Looking forward to reading your blog. George & Karen
Grant! Thanks for including me…I look forward to reading more…
Donna
Grant, I’m thrilled to learn of your new blog. I look forward to great learning ahead.
MABUHAY!!
Grant,
I resonate with your observations and reflections that you presented in your Introduction… I have long been frustrated with the institutional inertia that has prevented significant transitions from our industrial model of education into one that is a mirror of the real world of information and the Digital Age we live.
It seems like you have identified constants between these two paradigms that remain that you posed so eloquently regarding the essence of the people that are unique and stand out in our culture; “who invented, who designed, who overcame, who envisioned, who challenged, who explored, and who created”. In other words it is the human essence which is the difference maker between us and all other living things and if properly cultivated can bring anyone’s potential to the surface.
Two characteristics that you alluded to:
1) The courage to continue in the light of adversity (tenacity). In today’s world of “Failure is not Option” we are losing sight of the valuable learning that can/does occur when one attempts to solve a problem and fails with an acknowledgment of what is learned and how do I progress in seeking the best solutions in the newly created context. I put it this way to my students: the definition of an expert in one’s field is an individual who has failed the most in seeking out answers but never stops trying. The depth of understanding as a result is a natural consequence of their tenacity.
2) Deep authentic learning starts with really good questions. Learning how to ask really good questions is a skill that needs to be cultivated and I believe is not a focus in the classroom. I have experienced some really good answers to some not so good questions and some not so good answers to some really good questions and I prefer the latter as a starting point.
The industrial template does little to address the development of the Human condition and our affective domain, therefore is ill equipped help develop people in productive successful members of a global society.
I am looking forward to the delivery of your book and reading your deeper thoughts on the premise set in your Introduction and to learn from your hands on experiences.
Thanks for all your efforts
Thanks so much for your comments. I am glad that you read the introduction to The Falconer and from your comments I think that much of it will really resonate with you in the classroom. One group at the Westminster Schools in Atlanta have started building a very innovative curriculum around these ideas; you can find out more through Bo Adams’ blog “Its About Learning”. I hope you will forward ideas and comments to me about the book and about my future posts, and about what you are doing in the classroom. Appreciate it!
Sir,
Thank you for inviting me to this blog. I truly look forward to exploring the many ideas you present. I can sincerely say that the two weeks I spent working with you on the Falconer seminar has been a true boon to life. As I have risen in responsibility here at the academy I have used both your book and the lessons from that summer with those in my charge. It was rather unfortunate that west point could not or would not continue such a valuable program. I look forward to engaging your blog and taking away substantive matter I may use in the development of myself and others. Please remember us here at West Point, and if there is anything we can do let us know. Thank you again and I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
-Nick Bayer
For any others following these comments, one cannot receive higher praise than what Nick just sent. This is a fine young man serving his country at West Point, and a great student to boot. Nick, I look forward to your comments, and if you want to share the blog post with any of your fellow cadets, I hope it will help them. Thanks for using lessons from the book and sharing those with your teammates. I am ALWAYS here for you if there is anything I can do!
Grant,
I am pleased to be invited to your blog. There is much for the public school sector to learn from the private school “school of thought”. Will be following with interest.
Susan
Thanks, Susan. I hope you will add your comments from the public school perspective as we move forward!