While driving, I’ve been listening to a powerful audiobook called “The Dreaming Path” by Paul Callaghan and Uncle Paul Gordon. I highly recommend. The book warns about what they call “when then” thinking. It calls out a misguided western thinking pattern about happiness and its dependence on certain events occurring first. Examples include: “When I…
I chatted with a School Leader this week whose current focus is that the school’s teachers deploy circle architecture more regularly in the classroom. The teachers had agreed that this was an experiment worth running and that there were multiple opportunities for circles to be of benefit – checking in, checking out, preparing for changes,…
I read a fabulous blog by Seth Godin last week that explored two seemingly disconnected concepts – Artificial Intelligence (AI) and caring. I reckon Seth is a particularly insightful guy, and I recommend his daily blog to you. But this blog, in particular, got my attention because I think it has implications for both teachers…
CS Lewis wrote “Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: ‘What! You too? I thought I was the only one.’” Teaching and School Leadership is hard these days. That doesn’t make it without reward or unworthy. But I’ve noticed a universal truth in the challenges getting tougher. And yep, a…
There’s a lot of talk in education circles about student behaviour, and I’ve noticed a lot of that talk tends to be serving the talker more than the listener. What I mean is that we tend to lapse into absolutes and hyperbole when it becomes more to us that we’re right … than helpful. One…
My sport of choice to play has always been cricket. I played it for about 35 years. I remember emerging from junior cricket ranks into playing against men and how confronting that was … especially when I had to bat against Rogo. Rogo wasn’t even an opposition player. He was on my team. I was…
My Dad is typical of many Dads – like me – in that he’s got a proverb, metaphor or story to back up almost every point he makes. His favourite has always been, “Adam, you’re just going to have to take your medicine on this one.” What Dad was speaking to me about was that…
Once a semester – and only once a semester – I write an email to you that’s useful in a different way. It’s not an email where I attempt to stimulate your thinking or support your work. It’s more of an email I write because I really want you to do something. This is that…
I’ve had several conversations with Teachers and School Leaders lately about pack or gang mentality amongst students who congregate for the perceived purpose of poor, aggressive or bullying behaviour. They most commonly ask me what they can do to shift the gang’s behaviour. They’re disappointed when I tell them they can’t. You see, groups don’t…
This week, I found myself remembering a particular primary teaching colleague from many years ago who was handed her class list for the next school year. The school used a “traffic light” system to distribute challenges fairly amongst that year level’s teachers. The problem for this teacher was that she was an absolute gun educator. As…