Surprisingly, it wasn’t Deputy Headmaster Rohan Brown abruptly cutting a student’s hair that was front page news, but rather what came next. It was a day in early March when school photos were being taken, and as the young lad walked through the front gate of Trinity Grammar, a prominent boy’s school in Melbourne, Brown noticed […]
Agency and the Rise of New Power Read More »
How important is it to ask what students think of their education? It’s vitally important for us to ask this of our students even though we may not be satisfied with what they say about their classroom experiences. Bruce and I are discussing this concept today, along with my recent eye-opening visit to a school
#43: Be Careful What You Ask For Read More »
Over the last dozen years, one of the things I’ve become most interested in is the ways in which schools define their value in the world. In fact, it’s one of the first things I try to suss out whenever I visit a school or a district or a board. What matters here more than
If You Really Want to Change School, You Need to Change the Lens Read More »
Is instruction really necessary in schools? That’s just one of the many intriguing questions we dive into in our latest podcast with our friend, mentor, and educational leader, Gary Stager, in a conversation that will have you thinking hard (once again) about teaching and learning in the modern world. Gary’s focus is on the nature
#42: The Lost Art of Teaching with Gary Stager Read More »
What if one primary goal we had in schools was to develop kids as “professional learners”? As in people who make money because they are learning. That’s the intriguing phrasing that one of my favorite workplace bloggers Jane Hart uses to describe what people formerly known as employees need to be to thrive today. In
Wanted: Professional Learners Read More »
Brodie is an interesting kid; not precocious or in any way insolent, but also not afraid to share his opinions. He’d been going to one of Melbourne’s leading schools when late last year he decided it was time he and the school parted company. It was about that time his father, Nicholas, a local realtor,
Will Learner Voice Lead to the Learner’s Revolution? Read More »
You’ve had a full day shopping at the mall, and the last thing you thought about when you parked your car was where you parked your car. How often do you lose your car? Probably the worst place for me used to be airport car parks. I always had a lot on your mind, planes
The Importance of Forgetting Read More »
There’s change, and then there’s change. We all know what I mean by that, right? I mean, in some schools, the changes are easy to see. Everyone has a device. Teachers meet in their PLCs. “Competency-based” is the approach du jour. Or “personalized learning.” Or “flipped.” It occurs to me that most change that really
Our Moral Imperative 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 the midst of everything else we have currently going at Modern Learners, recently I was lucky enough to set aside time to sit in on one day of the exceptional professional learning program that runs at one of our local schools here in Melbourne. It’s the start of the school year here in Australia,
This is What Powerful Professional Learning Looks Like 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 »
Are you one of those people who always follow the same route to work, every day, for years? I am. Yes, I know it’s boring, but it’s a habit, it’s intuitive, and I can drive without thinking too much about it. And to be honest, while there may be better, faster ways for me to
The Art of Unlearning Read More »
It’s inspiring, isn’t it, to think that what was once just a whisper is today the voice of the crowd? The voice for change. Seventeen years ago as a new century was launched with fireworks and fresh ideas, a growing number of educators had an optimism for new models of school for the new millennium.
The Rise of the Learning Professional Read More »
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
From Traditional Teacher to “Modern Learning Advisor” Read More »
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
Learning About Learning Read More »
