V.U.C.A. originated as a military term to describe the context in which soldiers operate in a theatre of war. It stands for: Volitility Uncertainty Complexity Ambiguity It is the new normal for our students, and (as the authors of this book do a great job of emphasizing) it is the new normal for our teachers…
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Many of us have already been exposed to the concepts behind Creating Cultures of Thinking; with my new start at Havergal, it has served as a great reminder of the moral imperative of education. Creating Cultures of Thinking, by Ron Ritchhart outlines the 8 forces “we must master to truly transform our schools”. These are:…
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Fear of Missing Out… Fear of being left out… Fear of being left behind… As an educator, do we need to feel this fear? Do we need to feel a drive for growth? Now, maybe fear is not the greatest motivator. So how might we rephrase this: Desire to be on the leading edge… Desire…
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I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, reading and exploring about educational leadership over the summer in preparation for my new role as Director of Teaching and Learning. There are some things that I really want to make sure I make habits of mind. The first is to be a Learning Leader. For me,…
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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLTZv2NFkLI[/youtube] “This is me in Grade 9 Baby, yeah, this is me in Grade 9” – great lyrics from a great band. But they make me think about what we do, as grown-ups, to help us find out who we are. This song is about a picture, but it leads to memories. Memories of…
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After a long February and very well deserved March Break for all of us at Cohort 21, I have been thinking about some of the great posts that I’ve been reading. In particular, Jesse Denison, Celeste Kirsh, Derek Doucet, Jen Bibby and Ruth McArthur; they have published some thoughtful reflections, but also reflections that have…
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I wanted to write this post as an inspiration to all my fellow Cohort 21 members as we head into March and towards the end of our energy and capacity for the year! I just read this great article on leadership by Workplace Mojo entitled “13 Thoughts for Discouraged Leaders“. Despite its title, it actually…
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I have continued to make good successes in engaging students on their blogs. Currently, I have 98% of grade 7, 8 and 9 students on blogs, and 100% of advisers are blogging. But more importantly, we are discussing the struggles with the students that are reticent to blog, and with the whys and hows of…
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As February is now upon us, it is a time that I use to step back and take a more meta-view of my programs and goals. This is a pivotal time to stay focused on your goals, because it is one of the most difficult times. It is busy, and frantic (report cards, assessments, OSSLT,…
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Yesterday’s Cohort 21 F2F session provided a lot of time for putting faces to names, for putting names to schools, and ideas to be flushed out more completely. A few things struck me: 1) When the cohort held the unconference session in the afternoon (examining the role of technology in collecting data for and of…
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