It’s time to get a little existential. In this episode, my friend an colleague Bruce Dixon and I are discussing the profound artistry of teaching. Fueled by our mutual love of the works of Seymour Sarason, Bruce and I are going to weigh in on some of the topics mentioned in our last Shifting Conversations […]
#36: Changing Educational Norms That No Longer Serve Us Read More »
Today’s show is another one of the “thought exercise” episodes, so get ready for your thinking to be challenged! We’re discussing a book that came out about 20 years ago, The Answer to How is Yes, by Peter Block. This book twists the way we think about how change happens and explores the relationship between
#35: The Answer to How is Yes Read More »
It’s been a while since we had a “Sarason Moment.” And since I’m spending some of my 14 hours on a plane to South Africa rereading one of my most powerful influences, I’m thinking this is as good a time as any. For the uninitiated, Seymour Sarason authored over 40 books, and is the person
The Artistry of Teaching Read More »
In today’s conversation, we take a deep dive into a recent article in The Guardian by Cathy Davidson, a professor at City University of New York. Cathy says we have to “reverse the outcome-oriented educational monster we have unleashed . . .” We also are discussing Peter Gray’s article in Psychology Today, “The Joy and
#34: Are We Doing the Right Thing in Schools? Read More »
I’m reading another one of those books that’s profoundly changing my thinking about change in schools. And yes, as always, it’s like 20 years old. It may seem weird that I keep going back in time to find the most powerful ideas for this moment. I mean, not a week (day?) goes by any more
Happy Holidays everyone, and welcome to the final Modern Learners podcast for 2017. We’ve really enjoyed putting these together, and we hope you’ve enjoyed listening to them even more. This week, Bruce and I cover a couple of different topics. First, we pull back some of the layers around the language we use in schools,
#32: Words Matter, and an End of the Year Wrap Up Read More »
If we’re talking about kids and schools, and I say “success,” what do you think of? How about “achievement”? Or “high expectations”? I’ve written many times about my surprise at how little consistency I find among groups of teachers and leaders from the same school have around the word most basic to our work: “learning.”
The Importance of Common Language Read More »
Building on Bruce’s post earlier this week, in our latest podcast we dive a little deeper into the expectations we bring to keynotes and presentations at large (or small) conferences. Do we want to be affirmed? Challenged? Both? Our feeling is that it’s incumbent upon those with a platform to use it to provoke a
#31: Cold Shower Keynotes Read More »
It’s an interesting time for the Internet. As I mentioned in this week’s Shifting Conversations post, much of the amazing potential of the Web that many of us felt a quarter century ago now feels like it’s being overwhelmed by anger and stupidity and silliness. And as the Web grows more complex, so too do
#30: The Past, Present, and Future of the Internet Read More »
So, I want to tell you why I think you should join us for Change School 4. And I want to get personal, which many of you know is one of my favorite words. For the last dozen years or so, I’ve spent a lot of time on the road visiting lots of schools, keynoting
The Power of “Live-By” Professional Learning Read More »
A few days ago, while unpacking some boxes from our recent move, I came across a “book” of magazine articles that I’d assembled and copied for teachers at my school back in January, 1996. It was for a course titled “Basic Internet for Educators” that I had taught as part of a tech focused PD
What the Internet is Becoming Read More »
If you’ve enjoyed being pushed by the conversations between me and Bruce in the past, you’ll definitely enjoy our latest podcast that digs into the value of teaching, not just in the modern world, but in general. After a couple of weeks of scintillating interviews with Joel Pelcyger and Conrad Wolfram, this week we spend
#29: The Value of Teaching Read More »
Why is the current state of math education not suited for the modern world of computers and phones and other devices? That’s the bigger question that Conrad Wolfram answers in our 28th Modern Learners podcast. Bruce and the founder of the amazing Wolfram Alpha have a wide ranging conversation around the state of current math
#28: Rethinking Math Class With Conrad Wolfram Read More »
We’ve moved from an experience rich, information poor world to an experience poor, information rich world. And that, according to Joel Pelcyger, is a cause for some deep thinking about the role and value of schools in the modern world. Pelcyger, who founded Pluralistic School One in Santa Monica, CA 46 years ago, has been
#27: A Pluralistic School Read More »
Greetings Fellow Internet Edu-Wayfarers, Another week gone by in our quest to break down the boxes in our brains that define what school is. How we doing with that? Bruce is traipsing through the wine country of New Zealand this week where, (did you hear?) the new government is breaking boxes left and right. End
Modern Learners Newsletter #222: Confused Yet? Read More »
