Those of us involved in trying to change schools to become learner-centered know how difficult that change can be to implement. I am always on the lookout for books and podcast episodes that help me understand the change process. I just completed reading the book The Catalyst by Jonah Berger. I found it very helpful (and valuable) as I think…
What does it mean to be “leadershipped out”? Here are some signs that you might be suffering from this condition: Do you know that feeling that you are on the cusp of being overwhelmed? That’s leadershipped out. When you are in a meeting and the topic is something that usually gets you charged up, but you feel apathetic about it…then…
The path of least resistance and least trouble is a mental rut already made. It requires troublesome work to undertake the alternation of old beliefs. –John Dewey In the first post in this blog series, I claimed that there are two purposes of schooling: babysitting and high school sports. In today’s post, I want to envision a world where schooling…
My Brother and Critical Thinking My brother works as a foreman for a pipe-laying crew. He mostly puts in water and sewer lines. He has some great stories from his work. It is interesting the people he has to deal with, the regulations he has to master, and the problems that arise every day. What I find interesting is that…
Ripping the Band-Aid Off This post builds off an earlier post entitled “The Old and New Story of Education and Schooling.” Over the next few blog posts, I will develop my ideas further. I am going to preface my thesis by saying that I am optimistic about the direction of learning and education. I believe we are heading in the…
Here are some comments I hear all of the time from teachers, principals, superintendents, and anyone else that aspires to be learner-centered. “Where do I start?” “There is too much to do.” “How do I not get overwhelmed?” Let’s get something off the table right now…these are not excuses! I believe these are all valid concerns that are impacting people…
A Story This week I had the honor of participating in a dissertation defense (congratulations Dr. Jim Hollis!). The topic of his research was chronic absenteeism. Dr. Hollis interviewed young adults who were chronically absent when they were in school which means they missed more than 18 days of school in one year. The stories of their lives, and why…
A Story Is “leadership” something that you are born with or a skill that you can develop? In other words, do you just throw up your hands and say, “that’s the way I am” and not try to build your leadership skills. In the two previous posts, I laid out a way for school leaders to develop their own leadership…
In my last post, I discussed the importance of developing your leadership philosophy and the first four questions to get you started. In this post, I will share with you the final seven questions that will help you create your own leadership philosophy. What do you have to learn? The next three questions help build your learner-centered leadership philosophy by…
My new book talks a lot about learner-centered leaders developing a leadership philosophy. A leadership philosophy is crucial for any leader who is attempting to institute change into their school. Your philosophy will guide your decision-making process and clarify what is important or not as you work with your staff and community to bring change to your school. Your learner-centered…