As an undergraduate student studying botany, I got quite good at using dichotomous keys. Mine is still on my bookshelf and the $40.00 price tag is still attached (it was among the most expensive books I bought during my studies). It is almost 800 pages of plant descriptions along with either or questions. Does the Read More
Category: Leadership
On Students Who Become Teachers
On January 17, 2022, I posted the tweet that is embedded below. It generated far more conversation than most of what I tweet, and the replies are worth the time to read. Some of the replies did challenge my overgeneralization and my lack of citing any references. Of course, those criticisms were spot-on. Most teachers Read More
Elevator Pitch on Censorship
Educated individuals value the free expression of ideas, yet we recognize some ideas are distasteful, others harmful, and some are likely promoted by quacks. It is through our capacity to critically analyze ideas to decide which deserve our attention, which should be seriously considered, and which dismissed. Our human nature and our professional ethics lead us to Read More
On “Returning to Normal”
The “education industry” has been trying to navigate COVID for two years, and it looks like we will continue for the foreseeable future. One of the interesting aspects of this has been the insistence that we return to in-person teaching. I find this to be a puzzling situation. First, it is contrary to the pre-COVID Read More
Educators and Technologists Don’t Speak the Same Language
I once served on a committee hiring a professional who was primarily going to serve as a network administrator. We were in the second interview, so there were fewer questions and more discussions, and the candidate asked, “What can you tell me about the environment?” The superintendent who admitted little knowledge of technology began describing Read More
IT & Education: Language Differences
I once served on a committee hiring a professional who was primarily going to serve as network administrator. We were in the second interview, so there were fewer questions and more discussions. The candidate asked, “What can you tell me about the environment?” The superintendent who admitted little knowledge of technology began describing efforts they Read More
Elevator Pitch on IT Mission Creep
“Mission creep” is a familiar concept. An organization undertakes a project with an intended outcome defined–it is the value that will accrue as the project becomes complete. Over time, the project expands to include more and more outcomes. Before leaders stop to realize it, the original mission has become something far different. In schools, computers Read More
Don’t be this Principal
I’ve been cleaning out my Google Drive account along with some other older files. I’m trying to reduce both the physical and digital clutter in my places and spaces. Here is an interesting story rescued from that clutter: We have a new fleet of largely dysfunctional computers. Two months ago, the principal invited me to Read More
Three Points About Data and Standards
The purpose of education is to help people learn. Learning is a natural physiological process of the human brain and the nature of those processes define the rules within which educators (and education policy makers) must play. While it might be convenient for policy makers to define test scores as a measure of learning, those Read More
Why is Education Always Reforming?
Although the constant cycles of reforms can be tiresome for many educators, the cycle can be explained by and even predicted by aspects of education that are well-known. First, education is a field that requires continuous improvement. One never “achieves being a good educator,” we adopt new practices, adapt existing practice to unfamiliar students, and Read More