Alice came to a fork in the road. “Which road do I take?” she asked. “Where do you want to go?” responded the Cheshire cat. “I don’t know,” Alice answered. “Then,” said the cat, “it doesn’t matter.” ~Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland Many of us use the start of the new school year to refine our vision of the difference we hope to make in our buildings and in the field as a whole. How…
Photo Credit: Laura Stockman Summer is a time unto itself. In our family, we draw deep boundaries around the months of June, July, and August. The rhythm of our life together changes, and while the pace never seems to slow, the content of our days becomes distinctly different. It’s a disruption I long for every year–one that seems to slow me down and wake me up simultaneously. Sometimes, this feels unsettling. Over the course of…
Wow. I guess that certainly qualified as an extended hiatus. I don’t think I’ve ever been off the grid for quite this long, and I must admit: I really enjoyed my time off. My kids really enjoyed my time off too, I’m thinking. That said, I’ve felt the effects of my absence here. Blogging regularly inspires me to pay closer to attention. It challenges me to think differently and deeply about the work that I…
Been thinking on the question I posed at the end of this post. I’m beginning to wonder if some of the more critical “21st Century Skills” that we need to foster in our kids and in ourselves include the ability to assess and effectively respond to the stress created by some of these realities….what would you add? Overwhelming choice and opportunity–because we are bombarded by options, whether it is brands of ketchup on a supermarket…
Internet filtering is a reality wherever I work. I’m sure it will remain so for some time to come, and in most cases, for good reason. I’m fortunate to work in places where many of the tools that I prefer to use are open, including Google tools and YouTube and even Facebook. When things are blocked, all of the administrators that I work with are happy to open sites up in order to facilitate great…
I’m not wild about Interactive White Boards. My reasons are fairly simple– we don’t expect young people and teachers to identify their real learning and creative purposes often or early enough, and I question how IWBs facilitate this well. I feel it’s important to begin most learning there, and I have a hunch that when we overlook this, we increase the chances of integrating technology in ways that don’t serve any one very well. So…
I’ve used this video to begin conversations with writers about the development of great ideas in writing. It could also serve as an interesting example of metaphor. I’m sure that every teacher could come up with a different approach for using it. Videos like these can be used in a multitude of contexts and for various purposes. Sometimes, I find myself reconnecting to the videos I’ve bookmarked in some pretty unexpected ways. A couple of…
Hey–there is an interesting conversation taking place over here. I jumped in because the issues raised here are particularly relevant to the work that I….and a whole lot of other people I know…..do. A theme has been emerging from my own learning over the last few years, and Bass digs into it in ways that I respect. He advocates for leading change by beginning with what is. He speaks to a reality that I understand,…
So……now what? Seriously. Scores have improved in many of our local schools over the last several years. What does that even mean anyway? If all of the professional development initiatives teachers have been a part of, all of the learning community work they’ve participated in, and every formative assessment they’ve “given” students inside of classrooms was heavily motivated by a thirst for improved student performance on tests of any kind…..what will happen now that this…
Over the last few weeks, Temple Grandin has come up in conversations everywhere I’ve traveled. Mostly because I keep bringing her up. Inevitably though, someone in every circle has heard of her, attended one of her presentations, or shared her story with others for a wide and interesting variety of purposes. I’d never heard of her, truth be told, until I caught an interview with her on NPR this winter. Then, my daughter Laura and…