When I wrote my previous post, I didn’t know I’d soon have a perfect illustration of what learning looks like for younger students who have a natural joy for learning. In The Passionate Learner, Robert L. Fried points out that in preschool or kindergarten learners: “Curiosity is everywhere. Questions abound. Pride and delight in learning [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Change'
Do our systems support our goals?
March 17th, 2008 · 3 Comments · Change, Collaboration, Staff development
In their book Innovation, Curtis Carlson and William Wilmot talk about the difficulty many organizations have with adapting to change. They point out, “A fundamental reason for this failure…to keep up is that they are, by definition, built to fight the last war. . . . They have well-defined organizations and processes designed to achieve those earlier objectives, [...]
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Who do we serve?
March 15th, 2008 · No Comments · Change, Innovation
“You gotta serve somebody….” Bob Dylan Who do we actually serve in our schools and who should we be serving? What changes in our thinking when we apply the notion of customer service to the school environment? In their book Innovation: Five Disciplines for Creating What Customers Want, Curtis Carlson and Wililam Wilmot raise three central questions [...]
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Son of Flubber
March 9th, 2008 · 2 Comments · Change
How do we support innovation in our schools? In 1963, Fred MacMurray, in the film Son of Flubber tells us in a dramatic courtroom speech what we should do. He tells us that we are living in a time of fear….fear of smog, fear of bombs, fear of bugs, fear of falling hair. When asked [...]
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Making sense uncommon
March 1st, 2008 · 2 Comments · Change
Sometimes in education, if you are innovating it feels like you are fighting an uphill battle. You understand why libraries are important, or why websites should be unfiltered, but those with the power to make those decisions may not agree. How do we develop elevator messages or ideas that stick, as Chip Heath and Dan [...]
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On hope
February 25th, 2008 · 3 Comments · Change
“It’s too easy to criticize hope. And in the end, cynicism is a lousy strategy.” Seth Godin. Best blog post I’ve read in awhile. While it was most likely referring to recent politics, Godin’s words could be applied equally to technology decisions in schools. Many of us who work with students on web 2.0 tools [...]
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Seeing is believing, part two
February 9th, 2008 · 2 Comments · Change, Student projects, Teacher Learner, Web 2.0
No one who watched the ads on the Superbowl doubts the impact of a well-designed visual. But in schools, we often neglect that power. It is harder to make a striking visual, because it takes more time to make a well-designed handout—or a powerpoint that is thought-provoking—or a digital video that has impact—or even a [...]
To the presidential candidates
February 3rd, 2008 · No Comments · Change
In a moving and passionate post, Wes Fryer forcefully challenges the “fear-driven politics” of NCLB. Like Wes, I rarely write about this issue. But as legislators gather to once again discuss renewing the bill, I wonder first of all, if viewpoints of educators like many of us are being included in the picture. It seems too often our views as [...]
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From the ground up
January 7th, 2008 · 1 Comment · Change
Fascinating interview with Alvin Toffler in Edutopia which dovetails with my post a couple of days ago about Sir Ken Robinson’s approach to rethinking education. While I don’t agree with everything that Toeffler says, I do think it’s refreshing to see someone approach this complex problem with some understanding of the complexity and particularly the [...]
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Getting off of the roundabout
January 4th, 2008 · 5 Comments · Change
Education as we know it is at a precipice. Nationally, we perceive that things aren’t truly working, that our society is changing, that the world is changing, and that there needs to be a response. But it feels as though we are stuck in a roundabout, circling through the same patterns, and trying to fix [...]
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