When my daughter was seven, they were on the knobs to the medicine cabinet, poised to make the nose dive into the toilet if my hand knocked them on the way to the aspirin…on the coffee table peeking out from under the magazines and books…on the floor under the couch…in the corner of the kitchen […]
JanTerm Debrief #3–Smart Logistics and Keeping the Temperature Low
In three weeks… 370 separate buses traveled off campus as part of JanTerm and traveled more than 17,000 miles. Westminster students visited Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, California, and Guatemala. Westminster students enjoyed 790 cupcakes, 690 snow cones, and 500 ice cream sandwiches. Logistics. Success in any complex step forward in a […]
Revisiting a Guiding Idea: Creating A Progress Culture in a School
Recently I had two photographs framed. Made by Katelyn Jones, member of The Westminster Schools Class of 2013, right now they are leaning against the wall of my office ready to be hung. By digitally layering images on top of each other, she created something compelling. There is a magical, somehow dreamlike, quality to each. They leave […]
If We Want Them “To Serve and Lead,” What Then Must We Do?
[This piece appears with a different headline and in a slightly edited form on the last page of the latest copy of The Westminster Magazine.] Last week I hosted eighteen freshmen in my office for lunch. I have been hosting these lunches as a means of getting to know students and as a means of developing a […]
Pilots: Showing the Way Forward in Schools
In a recent post, “Creating a Progress Culture One Pilot at a Time,” I identified four reasons to support piloting ideas and programs in schools. In this post I will expand on the fourth of those ideas: “Supporting pilots creates opportunities for the school community to see the efficacy of the school’s direction. We need […]
Pilots: Getting More of What is Good in Schools
In a recent post, “Creating a Progress Culture One Pilot at a Time,” I identified four reasons to support piloting ideas and programs in schools. In this post I will expand on the second of those ideas: “Supporting pilots creates opportunities to extend what is already good in the school culture or curriculum. The lion’s […]