I want to share two conversations I had this week that will form the basis for the theme of today’s ​blog postI talked to a teacher who told me that she has noticed a dramatic increase in the intensity of rude behavior coming from kids. She commented that is almost like they either don’t care if they are being rude…
Walking to the front door was not an easy chore. I had to navigate around broken toys, lots of snow, and an occasional car part. The “porch” to the mobile home didn’t look too promising either. I wondered if it would hold my weight. I hunched my shoulders to protect my neck from the blowing wind and snow and placed…
I want to thank Gregg Behr, the Executive Director of The Grable Foundation, for inspiring this post. Although we were not talking directly about educators when he mentioned the exhausted majority, I was inspired to think about other areas where there can be exhausted majorities. Check out Gregg’s book on Mister Rogers.I have been thinking a lot about a definition of a…
As I reflect on the potential impact of web 3.0 I keep coming back to the idea of “decentralization.” Now, this term means something different to different people within the web 3.0 community, but here is my shot at a definition.Decentralization is the empowerment of individuals to show their excellence.Right now, decentralized finance is gaining traction in everyday life. The…
In my perfect world, schools are based on the diagram above. The learner is at the center of every decision made in the school. This implies there is no room for decisions centered on “adult convenience”. The school is systemically built to provide the optimal learning experience for every learner. Period.As I look around at what is occurring in society,…
Recently, I have sat through a few meetings of educators where the topic involved “the learning gap” caused by the pandemic. I put “learning gap” in quotations because I am not sure what is meant by the term, and I am equally suspicious that there even is a learning gap. Let me explain. Any “gap” insinuates there is an agreed-upon…
As we emerge bleary eyed from the pandemic, let’s take some time to reflect on what will change in schooling because of the pandemic. 1. Schools will innovate beyond their traditional “walls”. The pandemic taught us two things about school. Virtual learning works for some learners. Virtual learning does not work for some learners. The fact that virtual learning is viewed…
This week I met over 100 educators in different events. I talked to everyone from a superintendent looking at his last few months on the job, to new teachers who are ready to change the world. It reflects the people I decide to hang out with, but all of them can be classified as “learner-centered.” They care deeply about kids,…
Early in my career, I faced three tough decisions in a six-year period. My wife and I had to decide whether to uproot our family so I could accept a job in another part of the State. Anyone that has gone through these decisions knows how difficult they are. They are multifaceted. There are family, personal, and professional considerations all mixed up…
The following is post from my weekly newsletter, The Learner-Centered Leader. To subscribe to the newsletter you can click on the button below. Too often, people complain about something, whether it’s a situation, an institution, or a governmental entity without offering solutions to the problem. Well today, dear friends, I am offering a solution to the problem facing public education.…