(This is written as a letter to my two college-aged daughters.) (It is also the foundation of my learner-centered leadership beliefs) I apologize to both of you for every well-meaning person who has asked you these two questions: 1. “What are you going to be when you grow up?” 2. “What job are you going to get with that major?”People…
Raise your hand if you feel as if you are the hamster running on that wheel…working hard and staying in place! In our VUCA (Volitile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) world, the number of micro and macro decisions that we are making is increasing. I think there is a direct correlation between the “more VUCA” the world is to the number of…
3 Drivers For Transforming Education Systems One of my “go-to” newsletters is The Learn Letter by Eva Keiffenheim. As the name of the newsletter states, she is concerned with studying how people learn. In her latest issue, she shares insights that a group of learning researchers she worked with to help make sense of education. The research team came up with three…
The Iceberg Model Of Systems Change We have all heard of the saying “that’s the tip of the iceberg” at some point in our careers. We usually use the saying to mean that there is a lot more going on with a situation than we can “see” at that moment. This week Jen Anderson shared this image with me. The image distills the importance…
The promise of Web 3.0, which I introduced earlier, depends to a large extent on the blockchain. So let’s break down the blockchain. The easiest to understand definition of a blockchain that I found is from Coinbase: At its most basic, a blockchain is a list of transactions that anyone can view and verify. Think of the blockchain in terms of…
We all love to have problems facing us all day at work, right? Well, if you do not agree with this statement, let’s look at the value of problems through the lens that Dan Rockwell suggests. You see, problems can be used to help move your organization to become better, as well as help with your own interpersonal growth.So let’s…
I worked with Dr. Coiner when I was the superintendent at Penn-Trafford School District. Dr. Coiner was an excellent learner-centered leader then (10 years ago) and is an even better leader now! This week I was catching up with Dr. Coiner and I asked her what advice would she give a new principal who was just starting their job. Her answer…
I have become fascinated with the political philosophy that underpinned the beliefs of our founding fathers. Through my journey of learning, I have discovered that we must move beyond the simple Lockean stereotype that we have pigeon-holed most of our founding fathers. The men that influenced our founding fathers ranged from Locke, Hume, Montesquieu, Smith and many others. It seems…
“It’s not that you white people can’t know certain things, it’s that your taught not to know” –Omaha Indian as told to author Jim Harrison What does it mean to “not to know” something? An egregious example of not knowing is when one willfully decides not to know. For example, a student may turn their head every time one of…
Future-focused superintendents create habits that lead to their success. Creating a “space” where educators take the time to think about their practice and the implications for their communities is a vital aspect of a future-focused superintendent. If you are not careful, you will find yourself “ping-ponging” from one activity or crisis to another throughout the day. The opposite of this…