“But tell me why I can’t…” “No, no, there is no why. Nothing more will I teach you today.” — Luke Skywalker and Yoda This is a story of two cities. Well, to be honest, it’s about two workshops I ran in two New Zealand cities, Wellington and Auckland. Now let me say from the […]

Here’s an interesting question for your next workshop, faculty meeting, or maybe even a dinner party? “Would you rather that your children were literate, numerate, or curious?” Pick one, and why? For many, it’s a tough choice; for most, you want all three. But if you had to choose one, which one would it be? […]

So, what does work look like for our kids: A career means a string of jobs at different companies. So workers respond in kind, thinking about how to shape their career in a world where you can expect so little from employers. In a society where market rules rule, the only way for an employee […]

What is the role of the single teacher in a classroom in a world where millions of potential teachers are now a few keystrokes away on a laptop or phone? To ask that question seriously, you have to buy into the premise of “millions of teachers” (if not billions) being within reach online. You have […]

After more than forty years learning about learning, I’m intrigued by how much I still need to learn. I mean, from time to time, I’ve had profound insights on the topic, aided by the research and writings of many of the people Will and I often reference in our work, (and in our most recent […]

Is it now riskier for some people to go to college right out of high school than instead to take some time off, do apprenticeships, or create a unique path to expertise? That’s the question that Seth Godin asked in a recent podcast, and the core of this week’s Modern Learners podcast conversation between Bruce […]

“Education consists mainly of what we have unlearned.” ~Mark Twain It’s been over a decade (yes…a decade) since I wrote one of my most commented upon posts ever (ah, those were the days) titled A Steep Unlearning Curve. One of the nice things about having 15+ years of thinking and reflecting archived online is being […]

What norms do you have in your school, not just for behavior, but for learning? In most schools, norms exist, but they are not as clearly articulated as these five at Mount Vernon Presbyterian School outside of Atlanta, Ga.: Start with questions Assume the best Fail up Share the well Have fun Those norms form […]

During one of our regular Roundtable discussions in Change School this week, one of our school leaders asked a very interesting question. “Given the number of books that have been written and papers that have been presented around  school change over more than 50 years by some very well informed and esteemed writers, why has there […]

First, some context for the 19th episode of the Modern Learners Podcast: Kids cheat in school. In high school. In college. Do a quick Google search and you’ll find all sorts of research that bears this out. Ask a kid, and even if he doesn’t admit to it himself, he’ll most likely roll his eyes […]