I hear a lot about “transformation” in schools. I know there are many well-meaning people that want schools to “transform”…heck, I am one of those! But as I have mentioned in earlier newsletters, “transformation” becomes a “blur word” if it is not defined.In other words, what does “transformation” mean to you?Once you have the definition out of the way, you…
In a previous newsletter, I highlighted the problems I saw developing with the concept of “learner-centered leadership.” In a nutshell, the problem is being too focused on the learning ecosystem and not paying attention to other ecosystems that school leaders must “live” in.The graphic above shows the relationship between the three important ecosystems school leaders must consider.Notice that all three ecosystems…
A teacher just starts their lesson when a student gets up from their seat, swears at the teacher, and walks out of the room. This behavior seemingly comes out of nowhere. Thirty minutes later, the student comes back into the classroom and sits down as if nothing happened. During lunch duty, a teacher who is monitoring the lunch is surrounded…
Learner-centered leadership, learner-centered instruction, or learner-centered anything is not a bad concept. In fact, school leaders that change their mindset toward being learner-centered will start to make strides toward transforming the school system. The concept of learner-centered is summarized in the idea of a learner-centered ecosystem. But there is a problem with the learner-centered ecosystem. A problem big enough to…
Three years into my career as a teacher, a couple moved into our community to teach at the high school where I worked. Since working at the high school I graduated from, I was always keenly interested in the new people moving into town and how they would fit in. To make a long story short, the couple became good friends…
As you know, I travel through a lot of school buildings in my job as an Executive Director and as a coach. When i walk into a school buisding I am invariably drawn to the outward “relics” that are meant to represent a school’s culture.By relics, I mean vision statements, mission statements, slogans, trophy cases (depending on where they are…
Have you ever had a situation when you said something or did something and then discovered that you didn’t have the right information or context to understand the situation? I have this happen to me almost everyday. I have found that it is hard to take back words and actions once they are in the world.Life is a story, so…
Public school educators are facing a monumental challenge in today’s world. There is a major political party in the United States that will weaponize everything we do in further of their own political interests…facts be damned! On top of these outside forces pressuring public school educators, there is a more insidious internal system that is limiting the possibilities for schools…
According to a study published by the Hoover Institute titled The Economic Cost of the Pandemic, (Eric Hanushek, 2023), the author claims he can predict how “learning loss” during the pandemic will impact the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of each individual State in the United States…for the rest of the 21st century! Wow! For example, his “analysis” predicts that New…
On July 2nd, 1881, Charles Guiteau, a man who was upset he did not get a political favor from the President of The United States, attempted to assassinate President James Garfield. I say “attempted” because the gunshot wound was not immediately deadly. As a matter of fact, if the President’s doctors could have kept their dirty fingers out of his…