A long time ago I studied Christopher Marlowe’s play Edward II as a set text for “A” level. As was my wont, I scoured the meager resources of the school library for as much information and commentary on the play as I could. I came across the expression “haughty indifference” in a description of the character of Mortimer. It captured…
On a daily neighborhood soodle a while back I saw this single golden sandal on a stoop on W112th Street. I wondered about the backstory. Was it lost or abandoned and was it missed? And I took a photograph. Sue did the same. Sometime later that child’s shoe was transformed. You can check out Sue’s additional transformations at Prufrock’sDilemma and …
This is actually a story about books but somehow the schools took over. It does start with the books – four old books from a library of a defunct school and each with this lovely bookplate. Beneath the tree is the line “And some of the blossoms shall turn to fruit” And some of the blossoms of the Lincoln School…
The schools we attend and work in help shape the people we become. Seven of my sixty plus years in school were spent here – at Headlands Grammar School, Swindon. It is long gone and the site redeveloped. When people go into education as a career they sometimes seek to replicate the good experiences of their own schooling. Others dedicate…
Buy local. If you live in a city, town or village you probably appreciate the local amenities. These include the local shops. If you want to preserve your neighborhood then buy local. Small independent stores and businesses are under siege and we need to support them if we care about preserving our neighborhoods. Let’s imagine a densely populated city like…
Lots of chatter about the fresh faces, diversity and new perspectives of the incoming class in the House of Representatives. Here’s a heartwarming story of the new everyday congress folk via Time magazine. It captures snippets of their hopes, dreams and earnest aspirations. Watch it below. My new congressman Antonio Delgado is in the group and also Max Rose from…
The case against grades and grading has been so clearly made that it is time to turn the tables. Why – in 2019 – with all the evidence available – Why are institutions and individuals still clinging to this pernicious practice? Why do educators persist in wasting time discussing such irrelevancies as grading standards, grading formulas, grade inflation and what…
I like the title of this book about how to do school right: Timeless Learning. The launch date is August 7th but from what is available – and from the published work of the authors on which it’s based – you just know it’s going to be good. Very good. The focus is on modern learning, innovative practices, change leadership…
It was Robert C. Parker Day at Robert C. Parker School in Rensselaer County, NY – just across the Hudson from downtown Albany. If you don’t know Parker, it’s one of those schools that legendary educator Tom Little lauded in his book Loving Learning as “schools for the ages”. Parker is a school in that long – and very American – tradition…
Immigration. Immigrants. Emigrants. Refugees. Travelers across borders. Changing countries by choice or by necessity of survival. Moving from one state of awareness to another. Learning. Growth. Transformation. Going deeper. Looking more closely. The threshold of consciousness. To grow and change. Or not. We have that choice. Here the poet speaks from the other side of the frontier, the border, the…
Those of us who were heads of school in 2008-9 probably remember all too well the pain of school downsizing and some may still bear the scars to show for it. It was a tough time all around. And that’s what made it easier. The whole world was struggling and any particular school or enterprise or person was not alone.…
I did not attend the NAIS Annual Conference this year – first time for many years – so I don’t have any takeaways to report like Grant Lichtman. But I was in Baltimore for an ICG (Independent Curriculum Group) board meeting and I was at the conference center to pick up a set of attractive little enamel badges (see below)…
My title line is from Kevin Kelly whose new book The Inevitable is about the deep trends in the next 20 years that will shape our lives. And a little reflection helps us understand that truth. The future happens very slowly and then all at once. First it seems outlandish, strange, unusual and possibly impossible. Then it looms over us and then…
Ok – so you wanted to be a head of school and you applied for a job and then you got it. Congratulations. Among all the things that you now have to make a priority is becoming the expert on the history of your school. This will take time. Schools are not alike and independent schools often take pride in…
Those ever-attentive to such details may have noticed that this blog has a new title. Sort of. I started this blog when I became head of school. At that time I rather foolishly assumed that it would have a small but rather captive readership within the school community. But people are really busy and don’t have the discretionary time to…