Category: Learnings

Why is there so much mental and emotional trauma inside our traditional public school system these days? Why have so many kids lost their purpose, and spend their days roaming schools like zombies in a post-apocalyptic world? Are we working on the right things with our kids, or is our curriculum so outdated that even…

Recently, Rebecca Midles wrote an article for Getting Smart online, highlighting the Tacoma, Washington school district for their efforts in expanding the number of choice schools for their students and families to attend. Midles writes, “Tacoma, Washington is home to a growing number of choice schools that offer personalized learning opportunities for its students, reflecting…

I’m back at the keyboard. I hope everyone had a relaxing and enjoyable 4th of July. For years now, there has been a misunderstanding throughout our public school system that somehow there were policies, primarily enacted by state legislatures, that prevented the traditional school leadership across our country from inventing a better system of learning…

A Little About a Lot Understanding Your Learners When it comes to personality and leadership inventories, I’ve taken my fair share of them. When I was a public school leader, some of the data was helpful as we considered who worked best on teams established to take care of our students while pushing them toward…

This summer’s EL magazine, a ASCD publication, is titled “Deepening Learning with Tech.” You can read it on your own, but I thought I would highlight some of the articles appearing in the issue. Let’s start with what might be the most startling statistic, given the reaction of some school districts to ban ChatGPT from…

Yesterday I introduced Representative Harold Dutton, a member of the Texas Legislature from Houston. Dutton, along with many other elected state officials from the Lone Star State and others, believe it is their responsibility to set policy when it comes to public education. And all of them would be right, since there isn’t one state…

I don’t know Harold Dutton well. We used to say hi to each other and talk a bit about the Houston Independent School District at our favorite breakfast hangout. I was a region superintendent at the time. Dutton was, and still is, a Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives, representing District 142 in…

Are we ever going to change the school calendar? People wonder why students are struggling academically these days. Well, I have an idea or two why our nation’s test scores are now at a 50-year low. The brain is a muscle, and like most muscles in the human body, the brain needs a daily workout.…

Last week, I read an article from a principal that just finished their first year leading a school campus. The principal shared what she learned from her first-year experience. Here’s what she learned: “Have a goal; adjust as necessary; stay the course.” “Take time to build relationships.” “Share your goals. Repeat, repeat, repeat.” “Find a…

I like to think of myself as a left of center thinker, but all of my writing about parent rights, learner choice, and my criticism of the current public education system has some of my readers believing I’m a Trump-loving, ultra-conservative intent on destroying our public schools as we know them. Well, I’m not a…