As educators, we always seem to be in the process of change, resulting from both external and internal sources. Internal change efforts are not any easier to accomplish, in part due to how faculty reacts to change. Read More →
Geoffrey Canada’s TED Talk: CTL is marking its 20th anniversary with an education forum and celebration in September. In advance of that event, we’ve invited national, state and local educational leaders to share their ideas on the themes of innovation, equity and systems change through a series of blogs, the first of which were posted August 1 and August 8. Today’s postings include two such blogs plus a TED talk by Geoffrey Canada, architect of the Harlem Children’s Zone in New York Read More →
By Mr. David Cook: As Director of Innovation for the Kentucky Department of Education, I spend too much of my time responding to the following question: “What is innovation?” My first reaction is to use the phrase from the anti-drug campaign “Just Say No” to defining innovation. Read More →
By Dr. Carmen Coleman: Five years ago in Danville, we began a journey. We wanted to know what schools were doing that were cultivating learners who weren’t only ready for something when they graduated from high school, but who were equipped to be successful in their postsecondary endeavors. Read More →
By Allison Hunt: If teacher leadership is really going to transform education, the meaning of the phrase is significant. Teacher leadership can absolutely change our educational system if it is interpreted not to be teachers simply taking on more administrative duties, but instead empowering teachers as true professionals within the classroom context. Read More →
By Dr. Patrick Michel: I respectfully submit to you, by its very definition, that the current crop of education reformations are not the same thing as transformation in schools, and that the factors that cause achievement gaps need transformational solutions, not reform. Read More →
If establishing a growth mindset journey for students is worthy of our professional development allocations, is it not then implicit that we recognize its role in adult learning as well? As Senge points out, “people with a high level of personal mastery are acutely aware of their ignorance, their incompetence, their growth areas. And they are deeply self-confident. Read More →
What accounts for the lack of connection between our expectations and aspirations, and the reality of schooling for many students? For those of us who loved learning while in school, read voraciously and tackled reports and projects with enthusiasm, why are we unable to generate that same enthusiasm for the majority of our students? Read More →
A motion graphic produced by fifteen year old Sarah Almeda gives educational leaders suggestions for how schooling can nurture students’ talents and interests by emphasizing individuality rather than standardization. Read More →
If we want to foster innovative thought, adaptability and complex problem solving on the part of our students, we need to engage them in activities that develop these various abilities. Read More →