Let’s consider the difference between perception and perspective as we go through our work this week. People make the mistake of thinking these two words are synonyms, but they are not. Perspective is “living” in another person’s world to better understand their motivations, concerns, struggles, and so on. Gaining perspective places the onus on you to do something to understand…
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Your School’s “Job To Be Done.”
A researcher recently dove into the reasons why parents are leaving public schools for microschools. And the answers aren’t just illuminating; they’re a wake-up call. Let me cut to the chase: three “jobs” parents feel public schools aren’t doing are driving them to look elsewhere. Here’s what they said Now, let’s break this down. The Good News These are solvable…
Gambling’s Impact on Education: A Call to Action
I am going to apologize ahead of time on this post. This is a personal opinion I have about gambling…I don’t like it. I think the government encouraging gambling is immoral and unethical. I believe the gambling industry prays on the people who are economically the most vulnerable in our society. Season 4 of “Against the Rules” by Michael Lewis…
Leading for the Big Soul in Education: A Call To School Leaders
The following scene is from the movie The Grapes of Wrath. I have been thinking about it this week as we look to transition the public education sector away from individualistic narcissism to a collective “soul.” Tom: I been thinking about us, too, about our people living like pigs and good rich land layin’ fallow. Or maybe one guy with a million acres…
The Human Cost of Abstraction in Education
Last week, I sent an email to author and podcaster Scott Galloway. You might remember him from a video I shared a few months ago, where he outlined the financial crisis young people are facing in America. I agreed wholeheartedly with his perspective on that. But this time, I wasn’t writing to agree with him. Oh no. I was writing…
The Inertia of Mediocrity
My elementary understanding of inertia is that it is a force that is either standing still or moving in a certain direction. Inertia explains why the force will either stay still, or keep going in the direction it has started. So, why am I talking about inertia? Great question! This song is why. “Young Man” by Jamestown Revival Here are…
Be Courageous!
Okay, these kinds of charts are always fun and, at times, can be profound. I came across this on LinkedIn a few weeks ago. What got my attention in this particular graph is the “thinker/dreamer” sections. I am aware that the dominant archetype for school leaders is one where we get things done. We are making hundreds of decisions a…
Ego And Leadership
I Love It When I See Great LeadershipLast week I had the pleasure to do a Keynote for a group of educators gathered to collaborate on getting better at their craft. This group spent the better part of three days and evenings working on skills necessary to create the best learning experiences for kids. What a fantastic group! What made…
Likability V. Respect In Leadership
Here is something that has been on my mind for a while. Actually, this idea has been fermenting in my mind as I approach the time in my career when my long-time colleagues are retiring, and I welcome new leaders into their positions. I am very aware of my age and the generational cohort (Generation X) to which I belong. New…
Law v. Lore
There are many ways in which we are guided in our jobs. I hope we all start with a sense of morality and ethics as we go about our day. Undoubtedly, one of the biggest influencers on workplace behavior, especially in public education, is the law. What is written in the school code, to a large extent, drives the decisions…