I’m sitting at a conference table with eight colleagues.  We’re planning a second annual professional development seminar for this April 19 & 20, 2012.  We’re talking about projects that are going on at each school that have to do with WATER. Bob Dillon, MRH Middle School Principal, pipes up, Well, we should have our aquaponics project going by spring. Your WHAT? asked Tim Wood, TCS Sustainability Coordinator. At the end of Bob’s explanation, Tim turned to Sheila Gurley, Head of TCS, Well, Sheila, looks like we need a fish production center, too. She nods in hearty agreement. Oh, BTW…MRH is Maplewood ... read more...

Which comes first: 21st C. Curricula or 21st C. School Design? This question comes up when working with educators and my answer has been, It sounds like a chicken and egg proposition, doesn’t it; however, my sense is that it really doesn’t matter which comes first.  21st C. curricula and 21st C. school design are interdependent.  They clearly influence each other.  Also, one can cause the other. The tragedy is when neither exists and there is no catalytic reaction to cause either to develop.  (BTW, I specialize in these particular catalytic reactions.) On the curricular side of this conundrum there ... read more...

I am reading, The Constructivist Leader, recommended to me by Linda Henke, superintendent of Maplewood Richmond Heights School District.  Linda Lambert writes the introduction and she begins with a list of themes that will recur in the book.  The first: The lives of children and adults are inextricably intertwined. Democracy must be experienced by both children and adults as must trust and positive regard.  Authentic work must be experienced by adults as well as children, as must authentic relationships and possibilities.   I love this powerful statement.  It seems obvious though it is not a common occurrence in schools or ... read more...