In his best-seller “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” Stephen Covey wrote a story to illustrate his 7th habit – sharpening the saw. He spoke to two woodcutters. One would rise early and get to work sawing down trees in the forest. He could rack up a large number of trees sawn down, but his dull…
“Of all the things which nourish the imagination, humour is one of the most needful, and it is dangerous to limit or destroy it.” – John Millington Synge. Public conversation around what we need more or less of in schools is so predictable. Whether we’re on the sides of coding, decoding and teaching emotional intelligence…
I was thinking recently about some of the traditional ways in which we’ve learned and the extent to which technology has transformed the ways in which we do it. The inclination, of course, is to marvel at the toys, devices and gadgets that we’ve developed in the name of work efficiency and conclude that the…
Last week, I was having a chat with a Wellbeing Coordinator at a large secondary school that we Partner with. Her school is implementing Restorative Practices as a foundation of their whole school culture and it’s been a challenging and rewarding ride for them … and that’s just so far! We’re often impatient when it…
Renowned historian Daniel J. Boorstin was onto something when he mused that “The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance – it is the illusion of knowledge”. Boorstin’s words are a not-so-subtle reminder to continually question what we know … or that which we think we know. In fact, now presents as a worthy time…
It’s true that Australian Teachers are pressed for time. The impact of workload on those who sustain the system again hit the media last week in examining why so many Teachers are leaving the profession in the first 3-5 years of what should be a rewarding career. While we bemoan a lack of understanding and…
A couple of weeks ago we launched our “Restorative Classrooms, Strong Classrooms” workshop to be held in Melbourne. Then we got excited and a week later launched it at the other end of the country in Darwin too. The response has been just a bit awesome. Our analysis of this powerful statistical display (ok –…
I’ve been speaking to people lately about the way we, as leaders of learning, fail to take full effect of the ominpotent control we have over the learning context. In other, more simple words, we clump people together and hope that we can spray our wisdom across them with such brilliance that they are forever…
I love to play cricket. I’m not particularly good, mind you, but I love it anyway. Being a park amateur at best means that my game has always needed work and the pull shot is something I always struggled with. So a coach told me to watch Ricky Ponting play the pull shot. Ricky Ponting…
I went to the footy at the MCG on Saturday. And while I enjoyed my Tigers getting a win over their arch rival, the Blues, I found myself enchanted by the tactics of the opposition’s diminutive coach, Brendon Bolton. Bolton is know for being a “teaching coach” with a knack for great communication and being…
