Consider the “Turning the Ocean Liner” metaphor to describe school change. I have described and have heard many people describe changing a school to be like trying to turn the QE2: “it might turn,” we say, “but it will not turn quickly.” My issue with this metaphor is that it implies that everything has to […]
On the eve of the 2012 NAIS Conference in Seattle, I thought I would re-post this one as I am reminded of its relevance as I prepare for the flight from Atlanta to the Northwest.
A Shout Out to Partnerships: Their Relevance in a Progress Culture
Partnerships. Local ones, international ones, public-private ones, online ones. Partnerships between schools, between teachers, between academic departments, between students, between teachers and students, between the school and students, between the school and parents, between the school and the community in which it exists. More and more the value of partnerships is finding its way into […]
Becoming a Progress Culture: Keeping the College Process in Mind
I have written often in the last few months about the need to create a school Progress Culture. One of the issues that can paralyze discussions regarding how to move schools beyond the perceived safety of “what we have always done” and toward a progress culture, however, is the college selection process whose shadow stretches back […]
Thinking About Process Change (Part One): Contextualizing Technology Use in a Progress Culture
From Wednesday to Friday I attended, along with three other Westminster folks, the AASA Leadership Symposium in Boston, led by Alan November, and since we finished, I have been thinking about the cosmetic changes schools traditionally undertake versus the possibility of what November called process change. The conversation we had overlays my ongoing reflection on […]
Finding the Right School Words for Everyone
“Words, Words, Words.” – Hamlet What language will best communicate to a school’s various constituents? What is the Venn Diagram between the appropriately nuanced language of educators and the language equipped to speak compellingly to a smart, discerning and demanding larger community? How do we use language to bring these two […]