Schools are big ships. Sometimes ships do exactly what they're supposed to. Sometimes they run aground or sink. Sometimes old ships don't really work as well as new ones, other times the old ones bring something qualitatively wonderful. All these ships have a couple of things in common. First, if they're not heading to a [...]
In my last post I talked about cultivating a positive learning culture within your school as a foundation for a happy, upbeat, successful professional learning program. I also talked about the positive effects it can have on the learning environment for the students in terms of overall nature of the relationships between the student [...]
When we take our class on an excursion, we have the whole damn thing mapped out meticulously in our heads, our clipboards, our inboxes, on our phones/tablets, and in the heads of our co-workers and students. Not just in this reality, either. We've got plans, backup plans, and contingency plans for every possible eventuality [...]
Let me preface this post by getting one thing blazingly clear. I do not believe in God, an afterlife, or any other form of divine figure, mysterious creator, post-mortem reward or consequence. Hell, I don't even believe in the existence of the soul (Mum, relax - not your fault!). I personally believe that history has [...]
"It takes a village to raise a child." This mentality has guided my teaching for a long time, both as motivation and consolation. I've got another post brewing about mentors and teaching children and young people to seek guidance, but for now, let's just think about this idea. Without dredging out dichotomies of size, pace, [...]
