The Future of Schooling
In 2001, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) identified scenarios for the future of schooling as part of its What Schools for the Future? report. The OECD, for those who may not be aware, are those same people based in Paris that put out the PISA scores that compare and rank countries' education systems. Regardless of what we might think about PISA and ranking syste
Choosing Your Tomorrow Today
Choosing your tomorrow today. What does this phrase mean to you? Probably your first thought is that it conveys an understanding that what we decide today affects what we become tomorrow. Obviously skills, behaviors, and knowledge learned today increase or decrease the potential for us all to do things in the future. But is there more to this phrase? Can it be parsed out? Take each word one at a
Last week I entered a meeting feeling pretty good about my teaching life. I was sticking with my goals for the year, trying some new things outside my comfort zone, and achieving some success doing them, but soon my head was fixed on all of the things I wasn't doing. All I could think about were the things other people were doing or telling me I should be doing that I wasn't. I was feeling inadequate and I just couldn't shake it. I was, as ASCD CEO and Executive Director Dr. Gene R. Carter recently phrased it on a panel discussingdeveloping teacher leaders, experiencing "initiative fatigue." There was too much, too fast, and with too little time for me to evaluate or prioritize the ideas coming at me, let alone do anything with them. I was overwhelmed and anxious. I was lost.
Assuming that I was not the only teacher in the room feeling that way (and I doubt I was), what was the collective effect of those feelings having on the atmosphere of our school? Were all of these well-intentioned ideas empowering teachers or disenfranchising them?
Returning home with my two-and-a-half year old son Mason, I grabbed the mail and the cover of a parenting
Download Podcast Now [Right-Click to Save] Educators working in a positive school culture experience collegiality, trust, and tangible support as leaders and peers, creating an environment where there are high expectations, involvement in decision making, and open communication. Students entering a positive school culture feel safe, engaged, and connected and see school as a place where they can
3-10-14 The Whole Child Blog — Build School Morale by Attending to the 5 Cs — Whole Child Education
Build School Morale by Attending to the 5 Cs — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOGBuild School Morale by Attending to the 5 CsMarch 11, 2014 by David CulberhouseMorale isn't built in isolation ... and neither is it something tangible that we can point to and say, "There it is!" Rather, it is a force that builds and rises out of the ashes of our daily actions and interactions.As e