Teaching is not always easy. And learning can be a struggle for many of our students. As educators, we are called to this back and forth process of teaching and…
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“What I know for sure is that you feel real joy in direct proportion to how connected you are to living your truth.” Oprah Winfrey As a new teacher, I…
The preference for our society, if we really want to be effective, is to teach so that they learn, not merely present curriculum and document deficiencies or meeting standards or…
I remember the first time I heard the phrase “student-centered classroom” and I almost chuckled. I had always believed my classroom was about the students, they were the reason we…
When I was in high school I spent most of my time playing sports (football and basketball) and worrying about my so-called social life. In school, I rarely was allowed…
“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off…
I get to visit a lot of schools around the country, and I’ll admit that when I see signs like the one below, I often cringe. It’s not the sign’s fault,…
The Global Day of Design just wrapped up on May 2nd. If you want to see what happens when 80,000+ students embrace design thinking, check out the Twitter stream and…
Let’s start with the beginning. I’m an idea guy. That is, I have a lot of ideas. As a teacher I would constantly improvise, come up with new projects, lesson…
My daughter lowered her eyes, looked at me, and said, “I can’t do it.” I looked back and asked her again to put one foot on the board, push off…
In their book, Tribal Leadership: Leveraging Natural Groups to Build a Thriving Organization, Dave Logan, John King, and Halee Fischer-Wright, call groups of people (from 20-150) tribes. Their basic argument…
It’s 2017. Communication is changing fast (my 7-yr old daughter and I just exchanged Snaps while I am in Chicago and she is outside of Philadelphia in different time zones,…
1. Learning starts with attention. It’s almost impossible to learn if you aren’t paying attention. And whatever you are giving attention has the ability to turn into learning. 2. Attention…
When I was in sixth grade we were tasked with one of my favorite school projects of all time. We were allowed to choose a book to read and then,…
My first game ever as a head football coach had us losing 13-6 with one quarter to play in the game. My team was young, but extremely talented. I realized…
Thanks to everyone for making our new book, LAUNCH: Using Design Thinking to Boost Creativity and Bring Out the Maker in Every Student, a #1 bestseller on Amazon this weekend!…
This post originally appeared on Edsurge. My daughter is six years old. She loves Snapchat. She’s been using the app for the past two years, and it is her favorite…
Architects design, master their craft while planning, and collaborate at a high level. Masons work in the moment, communicate and problem solve on the fly, and master their craft as…
In 1939 audiences around the United States were delighted when the black and white scenery of The Wizard of Oz completely transformed into full technicolor in the blink of an…
Mohini was a regal white tiger who lived for many years at the Washington DC National Zoo. For most of those years her home was in the old lion house—a…
In the past couple of weeks, I’ve been asked the same question multiple times after speaking, “Do you still believe Genius Hour and 20% Projects are the best way to engage…
When I heard the news that Phil Schlechty had passed away it was sudden and I felt sadness. I’ve never met Phil but I’ve been deeply impacted by his work…
Equity. It means many different things to many different people in many different situations. To me, equity is everything in education. I believe education is the bridge to opportunity and…
