You know that kid: The one who walks wearily into the room, throwing himself into a seat and casting his eyes at the clock, the window, and the door. He’s counting the minutes until your class is over. He’s counting on you to just leave him alone. And when you don’t, he makes you pay for it. You pay for it in sideways glances, rolling eyes, and snickers. You pay for it in thirty requests…
This post is the third in my organizational story writing series. In the first post, I defined the form and shared ten reasons why organizational story writing matters. Then, I introduced a current client, Jackie James Creedon, in my second post. Here, I included the interest survey that I ask most clients to complete ahead of our work as well as the approach and tools that I use when conducting my initial listening session. These first meetings…
Jackie James Creedon shares a map of future soil testing sites in western New York State. Jackie James Creedon is the founder of Citizens Science Community Resources, an organization that is committed to promoting science-based activism and empowering grass-roots environmental justice and health campaigns. In 2014, Jackie received an award from the Environmental Protection Agency for her courageous efforts to lead an investigation in our community that took down Tonawanda Coke, a local factory…
More and more often, I’m invited to work not only with school districts, but with other organizations that are interested in telling their stories. Stories matter. They center us. They propel us forward. They change the trajectories of our work and our lives and the lives of the people we serve. They’re bigger than branding, and they’re far more than marketing tools. That’s why it’s important to value the story writing process as much as…
Recently, several colleagues asked me to begin a professional writing support group. If you are eager to begin blogging, publishing articles, or drafting a manuscript, you are welcome to join us. If you have any of these things in the works and are in need of good company, you are welcome to join us. And if you can’t attend face to face but would still like to be a part of things, you may still plan to join…
Nearly ten years into my career as an independent education consultant, I can say with confidence that a large portion of my time has been devoted to supporting teachers with assessment design. If you’ve walked a similar path, then you know how hard and humbling this work is. Perhaps, like me, you stand on the shoulders of assessment giants like Douglas Reeves, Rick Stiggins, Dylan Wiliam, Susan Brookhart, or James Popham. Perhaps you still define yourself as…
This week, I had the good fortune to meet with a small group of teachers, administrators, curriculum directors, and professional learning facilitators at Erie 2 BOCES. We spent the day discussing grounded theory, how to make learning visible, and how to use the evidence captured from documentation to formulate hunches and theories that serve learners well. This is exciting work that enriches my own practice substantially, and I appreciated meeting others who were interested in…
Last week, Judge Penny Wolfgang invited me in to her studio at Entercom Communications to chat about the WNY Young Writer’s Studio, the Common Core Learning Standards, and the influence of both of those things on kids who love (and hate) to write. I truly enjoyed my visit, and I’m grateful to her for shining a bit of light on the great things that are happening at Studio. The interview was broadcast on Kiss 98.5,…
By now, quite a few of you who keep up with me here know that in January, Mark Barnes named me Senior Writer at his popular education site, Brilliant or Insane. I’ve enjoyed writing there several times each week, and I’ve been learning a ton about the technical and business side of blogging. Very grateful to Mark for that opportunity. If you enjoy the topics I write about in this space and have an interest…
I don’t trust nice people in general, but if you’re truly kind, there’s a very good chance that we’ll become fast friends. Because here’s what I know: congeniality is the enemy of kindness. You might be pleasant to the point of charismatic, but the perkier you get, the more distrustful I become. Your validation of who I am only matters if you’ve been brave enough to disagree with me once in a while. If you…