The “Let’s Change School” conversation came to the forefront again this week after a video collaboration between Ted Dintersmith and the rapper Prince Ea went viral. As we write this, the video has been up for a little over 4 days, and between YouTube and Facebook, it has almost 10 million views and over
A response to Prince Ea’s viral video “What is School For?” Read More »
Now that everyone is turning their focus to developing the skills and dispositions kids need to thrive in the future, many are starting to ask “Well, how do we assess those things?” As in how do we create a data point for curiosity or creativity or persistence? And what skills and dispositions should we be
#50: Measuring (Or Not) the Immeasurable Read More »
It’s been a long time coming, but the emergence of the learning economy has been as inevitable as it is has more recently become overwhelming. This is a time when learners rule. When it’s not so much about what you know now, but rather what capacity you have to learn. When it’s not about what
The Rise of the Learning Economy Read More »
In our last Shifting Conversation post, the 250th in the series, Bruce shared the evolution of Modern Learners over the last five years, a few of the tools we use to thrive (and survive) as a team, and the pivots we made along the way. Since Bruce and Will have spent the past week traveling
Connections and Community in a Modern Learning World Read More »
In episode 49 of the Modern Learners podcast, Missy and Lyn talk with Superintendent Dr. Joe Sanfileppo of the Fall Creek School District in Wisconsin. Joe is known in educational leadership circles as “the relationships guy,” a dynamic school leader who speaks often about the role of relationships in learning and who celebrates loudly the
#49: Dr. Joe Sanfileppo discusses Relationships, Leadership and Learning Read More »
I recently reviewed a Seth Godin podcast called the Long Term. It was an interesting commentary by Seth on the significant benefits we see when we are committed to the long run…olive farmers and investors included. So given this week’s post will be our 250th Shifting Conversation, I’m giving myself the luxury of reflecting on just
How Long is the Long Run? Read More »
As I wrote about in last week’s column, this new book titled Timeless Learning by Ira Socol, Pam Moran, and Chad Ratliff may just be the best book I’ve read about how to change schools and bring all the things we know are important about progressive learning to traditional public and private schools. In this
#48: Timeless Learning With Pam Moran and Ira Socol Read More »
While it’s hard to count the number of profound thoughts and insights that frequent Timeless Learning, the absolutely powerful new book from Ira Socol, Pam Moran, and Chad Ratliff that’s coming out next week, this one particular passage had my inner and outer edu-activist pumping his fist: Adults may argue about this – they do
Choosing Progressive Education for Modern Learning Read More »
I’m pretty sure I’ve written this before in this space, but one of my favorite essays relevant to the whole conversation around school change is Margaret Wheatley’s “Willing to be Disturbed.” It was first published 16 years ago as a commentary on how confusing the world seemed to be post 9/11, and I’ve always found
Willing to be Affirmed Read More »
Could it be that one of the biggest barriers to change is that we rarely have any real shared understanding of the language we use around learning? That’s one of the many interesting conclusions that Dr. Beth Holland arrived at while doing her recently published dissertation from Johns Hopkins University. And it’s one of the
#47: Dr. Beth Holland discusses Learning, Language, and Leading Read More »
With all the talk around modern learners, it’s probably time we got up close and personal to understand a little more about their motivations, behaviors, and attitudes. First up, let’s be clear. Modern learners aren’t defined by an age group or demographic but rather by their habits, dispositions, and most importantly their ideas about the
Who Are These Modern Learners? Read More »
In the kickoff to our Modern Learners Community July 2018 theme of “Refresh, Renew, Relax,” we hand the podcast reigns over to Missy Emler and Lyn Hilt of our Modern Learners team who talk with Dr. Joyce Young and Liza Engstrom from the High Health Network, an organization dedicated to helping leaders harness the power
#46: Mental and Physical Wellness for Educators Read More »
In this episode, Bruce and I discuss a powerful essay written by Carol Black titled Children, Learning, and the Evaluative Gaze of School, one that discusses the very real effects on kids of a culture of surveillance and assessment. Some of the questions we kick around: Why have we gotten to this point where we
#45: Watching our Kids Too Closely Read More »
Have you noticed the “new” trend in thinking about schools? I put “new” in quotes because, of course, it really isn’t new at all. In fact, you might call it a renaissance of the thinking that we’ve always known to be true about bringing kids together to learn with adults in shared spaces. Maria Montessori
Why Start With Why Not? Read More »
I think it might be high time we called “accountability” and its kissing cousins “metrics” and “performance indicators” to account. For educators, that draws a focus to assessment, where maybe it’s time we asked if high-stakes standardized testing has finally reached its use by date? I mean what do you think it will take before we
Accountability and the Tyranny of Metrics Read More »
