Are you caught in a tornado? Is school a cat or a washing machine? I synthesize how ideas of embracing volatility outlined by Nassim Nicholas Taleb relate to principles of the Global Fourth Way in education outlined by Andy Hargreaves and Dennis Shirley.
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How Will We Walk the Talk? Conclusion
In Part One I asked, What will teachers finally say when we are given a voice at the policy-making table? Part Two profiled John Prosser, a teacher leader in Washington state, who facilitates the implementation of policy he helped negotiate. The conclusion features
Read MoreWhen Did Revision Become a Bad Thing?
My students are often shocked when I tell them the reality of Memorial Day. When I ask them about the holiday, they tend to believe it had its roots in World War II, the same war that was fought, in
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The Last Day
Wow, today is the last day with kids. Where has the year gone? When I reflect back I know we have a long way to go, but we will achieve greatness. Some accomplishments that may go unnoticed as we pack up the
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You Must Write Your Teacher Life
Why every teacher should be a writer.
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Monty Python and the Metaphorical Impalement
I’m confident that Rosa Parks didn’t “begin to have the difficult conversations” about bus seating.
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How Will We Walk the Talk? Part Two
“We did not put our ideas together. We put our purposes together.” Adam Kahane, Solving Tough Problems John Prosser is there. A teacher leader involved in policy-making. He began as a middle school teacher in the Seattle Tacoma area, then
Read MoreThe Obstinacy of Hope
I endeavor to explain how I see hope as essential to a teacher’s job, and yet not quite the syrupy-sweet thing that many interpret from Dickinson’s famous poem. It’s more beaky.
Read MoreIt’s Cultural
As a school administrator, I get dozens of emails a week from companies selling programs designed to facilitate any number of "school reform" efforts. I put "school reform" in quotes the way someone might put air quotes around "day off"
Read MoreHungry Students
"Mr. Spencer, we don't have enough breakfasts for the whole class," a kid complains. I double-check the numbers. Zero absent on Cocoa Puffs day, which means that unlike yogurt day, they're all having breakfast. A boy pulls me aside and
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