Category: Vision
The Filter: Any Engine Can Run On Fuel, For a Little While
Any engine can run on fuel for a little while, but there’s one small component that makes or breaks an engine. The filter. When sailing an open ocean, it’s all wind and sails. It’s coasting and cruising. But upon arriving at port the sails come down and the motor comes on. This is usually when […]
School Improvement Plan or Compliance Plan?
Or is it a school improvement plan? Look, a one-page essay is hard for many students to write. A one-page poem is hard for most adults to write. And a one-page improvement plan is hard to find in most schools. That’s because most schools don’t have improvement plans. They have compliance plans. Compliance plans are […]
Blurred Vision
When was the last time you stayed up too late working, reading, or browsing the web? What happened to your eyes? Likely, your vision blurred. Blurred vision can happen when we get tired. The same is true for your school. This is the time of year where teachers and staff start getting tired.
Your Vision, An Anchor
I’ve recently taken up sailing. Funning thing, sailing is a lot like race cars (another old hobby) in that brakes are more important for speed than engines. For sailing, the anchor is also the most important component of the sailboat. The anchor will keep the boat hooked to the seabed while you’re fast asleep. Without […]
Fall and Initiative Fatigue
What can leaves teach us about initiative fatigue? Fall is upon us (well, not yet here in Houston). Leaves are going through their annual changes, and in some places in the Northern hemisphere, they’ve already fallen. The dying leaves are a necessary part of growth. Old leaves die and make room for new growth in […]
Freedom, Reality, Possibility
We’re just short of 20 years since that day in world history where freedom came under attack. What role does freedom have in schools? What are the realities and possibilities for freedom in schools? Freedom implies the responsibility to direct, the power to act without constraint, the will to act within a self-selected intent. Independent […]
Educational Leadership, At What Cost?
A quick Google search revealed the following: 1,030,000,000 results for Educational Management 454,000,000 results for Educational Leadership That might be shocking considering the trend in the last decade to replace all vestiges of the term “management” in education with the more amiable and aspirational term “leadership”. I revised the search to include only the past […]
What If Schools…
What if schools served students who wanted to go there for a specific purpose. That is, instead of generalized curriculum and programs the school served specialized services. And not just curricula but in all aspects such as: Time Location Attendance Staffing Electives Early College Business Opportunities Community Projects What if schools were specialized? A school […]
Do You Schedule Major Resets?
A major reset is one of three ingredients in the recipe for continuous innovation. The other two are Go, No-Go Dates and A/B Testing. Without all three ingredients, change is perceived as haphazard and disruptive. With these three ingredients, change is systematic and strategic. It’s an expected part of what you do. So, again, I […]
What is Schooling?
Let’s consider four quotes. We should spend less time ranking children and more time helping them to identify their natural competencies and gifts and cultivate these. There are hundreds and hundreds of ways to succeed and many, many different abilities that will help you get there. – Howard Gardner In sum, then, “thinking about thinking” […]
Each Versus All
At first glance, they appear so similar: All students will learn at high levels. Each student will learn at a high level. However, this slight difference in starting points makes a vast difference in the multifinality that ensues. Here’s a graphic to sum a thousand words: Let’s not talk theory. Let’s look at the practical […]
Lives of Quiet Desperation
Whether you move or stand still, a choice still is made. The way you lead is a choice. The way you relate is a choice. The choice to go or not to go is a choice. Start and stop. This or that. A choice must always be made. It’s not the disruptions in life that […]
How to Create Your Vision for a School
This post details how to create your vision for a school. There’s a difference between your vision for the school and the school’s vision. Both are important to a school’s success, but how do you define your vision? One quick method is to start with a rectangle. In the upper left hand corner place today’s […]
Continuity and Change
If you want to create change, first create a vision of continuity. 209 employees were surveyed in organizations that were undergoing major changes. Leaders who communicated visions of continuity had more productive results after the change. It may sound counterintuitive, but establishing the non-change makes the change easier to do. A vision of continuity shifts […]
We Have A Purpose, Or Do We?
It’s quite obvious. Right? The purpose of education is to educate, no? Maybe prepare or ensure future success? Maybe the purpose of education is mere, high levels of learning for all. Maybe it includes something like, to develop better citizens or give the skills needed for success. These sound good, don’t they? Actually, it’s not […]