I was chatting with Gen Casonato, the wonderful Principal of Parktone Primary School, last week. As I’d done in almost every conversation with countless Teachers and School Leaders last week I asked how everybody was at the school. Were things starting to feel ‘normal’ again? I laughed when Gen told me that ‘normal’ arrived with…
I second guess myself quite a bit. I find myself fretting over what I’m thinking about doing and whether it will work. And what it doesn’t? What will happen then? Since commencing Real Schools, I’ve come to learn that this thinking was actually engrained within me across my time as a Teacher and Principal. Doesn’t…
I’m captivated by this picture from 1963 of Parisian children watching a puppet show. I think it’s mainly because the level of interest in their eyes is so intense. They just can’t pull themselves away from whatever is happening on stage. The kids clearly weren’t ready for that little development in the plot! We talk…
I went to my own kids’ annual school presentation ceremony last night. I love both of them dearly and I also value the wonderful contribution that their school makes to their growth. But here’s the truth – it isn’t exactly a riveting evening. And so, I kept myself occupied scoring the gender split when it…
I had the privilege of being in the audience for some staff presentations at Albanvale PS last week. These four PLCs have made commitments to challenge their practice through the work of our Real Schools Partnership in a variety of different ways in the first year of our collaboration. The Prep PLC looked at the…
One of Aesop’s fabled … umm … fables was The Crow and The Pitcher. Summarised, a crow dying from thirst finds a pitcher with just a little water in it. But sadly, the crow can’t get his head far enough into the pitcher to get to the water. If managing, training or coaching the crow, the likely response of…
I bought a new iPhone X not so long ago. The marketing worked. With every Apple billboard I drove past I became more convinced that my photos weren’t quite good enough. Those majestic landscapes and funky city streetscapes sure are compelling. I also gradually convinced myself it was a “work expense” and that having the latest gadgets…
The city of Boston has no law for jaywalking. You can just cross the road wherever you like and the expectation is that you’ll just have a good look around first and try not to cause a bingle (I’m quite sure use of the word ‘bingle’ in the US is somewhat limited though). You’d be…
I’m one of those people who need to be seriously unwell before I’ll visit a doctor. It’s not exactly best policy for man hurtling towards his 50s … but there it is. My rationale for enduring the symptoms of all matter of afflictions is pretty flimsy. I just hate the waiting room. I know full…
Almost every educator that I speak to agrees that we have a national problem with teen depression and suicide. They’d also fervently like to contribute to solving that problem. I know also that teen suicide is a complex and distressing social phenomena with multiple contributing factors and it’s easy to get lost in case study…