We all love to rumble on about lifelong learning . But how does that happen when learning is presented as a series of predefined steps and stages that learners must master and hurdle – the endless hamster wheel of material, test, grade, material, test, grade, move on. Where is the room for the infinite variety of human capacity? Where is…
When it’s getting near the end of fresh tomato season and the freezer and shelves are full of sauces it’s time to think chutney. Lots of good recipes out there but my all-time favorite is adapted from the indispensable Madhur Jaffrey. I’ve been making it for over thirty years and it never fails in spite of all the variations on…
Here’s a interestingly provocative article for all of us in education. How Much Do we Need to Know? by Peter Evans-Greenwood. It opens with: We used to be defined by what we knew. But today, knowing too much can be a liability. Here are some of the key threads from the article: Expertise matters in a few narrowly highly technical…
There’s solid evidence that American students do well when they are encouraged to think for themselves and expected to collaborate with one another. There’s a great Opinion piece by David L. Kirp* in the NY Times today: Make School a Democracy The story begins in a one-room schoolhouse in Armenia, Columbia with a mixed-age (5-13) group of students grouped at…
John Maeda is the keynote speaker at #naisac this week and I’m looking forward to hearing him. He just shared this leadership chart and Linked-In article via Twitter and he “hopes it’s useful.” I think it is. And interesting. Interesting because thinking how this applies to business-as-usual (or not) in independent schools will take some intriguing untangling and working through.…
The Letter from Birmingham Jail One of the most resounding rebukes in history. And as you read you can hear the cadence of the voice rising and falling with indignation and righteousness. It’s a long letter. Never before have I written so long a letter. I’m afraid it is much too long to take your precious time. I can assure…
It’s a good word grit. It’s short, and it has the good old English language virtue of getting right to the point. It also sets my teeth on edge. Why? Well for one, grit – it seems – has become one of those condescending terms that successful people use to describe what the less successful lack. Gritlessness…
A few years ago Ken Robinson urged us to bring on the learning revolution. Well some took him seriously. The people behind 21 Toys for example. They have developed toys for elementary school and corporate retreats and everywhere in between: Toys as Tools for the 21st Century Teaching Empathy, Failure, Creative Dialogue & Collaboration Take a look: They are in the footsteps…
Yesterday PDS faculty received an email from a colleague outlining a plan for the use, care and maintenance of one of our new makerspaces. She is one of two teachers who have a created a whole scheme to ensure the room works effectively and is accessible to all classes. It’s a detailed plan with well-considered thinking about key elements of…
“The Great Disruption: Technology and the Future of Schools” The latest issue of Independent School magazine is out and it’s a good one. Among many good articles there is this from retiring NAIS president Pat Bassett: The Third Great American Revolution. It’s a stirring call for action, almost a manifesto – for educators to rise to the challenge of our…
In his new book, psychologist Louis Cozolino applies the lessons of social neuroscience to the classroom. And here are his head (!) lines excerpted from The Social Neuroscience of Education: Optimizing Attachment and Learning in the Classroom The human brain wasn’t designed for industrial education. It was shaped over millions of years of sequential adaptation in response to ever-changing environmental demands. Over time, brains grew…
Come to the Edge We might fall. Come to the edge. It’s too high! COME TO THE EDGE! And they came And he pushed And they flew. Christopher Logue “Come to the Edge” frequently misattributed to Guillaume Apollinaire Sail in a new direction Simply by sailing in a new direction You could enlarge the world Allen Curnow ‘Landfall in…
The classroom is obsolete: it’s time for something new – said Prakash Nair in Education Week. last July. And that’s not just his opinion he says. “It’s established science.” The classroom is a relic, left over from the Industrial Revolution, which required a large workforce with very basic skills. …As the primary place for student learning, the classroom does not…
There’s a really useful article in Education Week that reviews, summarizes and connects the basic thinking and research out there on what helps promote creativity and helps children incubate the curiosity that leads to innovation, discovery and invention. There’s little here that is new and indeed I have written on all of these topics many times but it is encouraging…
…and we’ll make winners out of them” There’s a good article in the latest edition of Independent School magazine that challenges some cherished notions of excellence and the hypocrisy of so many claims about diversity, equity and justice. It is starts with a question and a well-aimed slice at the euphemisms of so many school mission statements. What does it…