I’ve been asked on occasion to add my two cents on a panel at the NYSAIS conference for assistant heads and division directors in a session they call “So, you want to be a head.” My participation has more to do with the geographical proximity of Poughkeepsie to the conference venue at Mohonk Mountain House than with any presumed super…
Poughkeepsie Day School lost a true friend and champion on June 23rd with the death of trustee Valery Einhorn. Below are the remarks I made at her memorial service at the invitation of the Einhorn family. I spoke on behalf of the school community but also personally. I valued and respected Valery and I will miss her. Our heartfelt condolences…
Last fall I informed the president of the board of trustees that 2015-16 would be my last year at Poughkeepsie Day School. Today Amanda Thornton, the president of the board of trustees, announced the new head of school. Please read that announcement here. After a thorough search and a considered process that involved all constituent groups within the school community the…
If you’re reading this online then you are engaged in social media. You are consuming. I’ve been thinking about education and social media not so much as an option but as an opportunity and an obligation – something we owe ourselves as learners and something we owe our students as teachers. We all know that we live an era of…
A few tips storified from an #ISEDchat courtesy of @LaneYoung. This is by no means a complete list of course. There are many more but here a few basics for beginners. And, while others may find this a laughing matter: [
Starting with the Welcome Week in September, and right on through to Nicky the Navigator in June, PDS relies on the time and talents of its parent volunteers. The wonderful Parents Association has done so much this year and we are so grateful to Dierdre Sepp for stepping up to the leadership role. Thanks for the fun meetings. I always…
Some days are like that – busy. Last Friday for example which – in addition to all the usual activity – also included a middle school science symposium, a high school Art Show, a Poetry Reading and a play. In fact – the whole week was like that – delightfully packed with events, performances, games, productions, performances, presentations, field trips,…
Have you ever seen a ton of starlings or red-wing blackbirds swooping about in unison as if they were in some kind of mechanically choreographed mass ballet? Of course the correct and archaic collective nouns to use there would be murmuration for the starlings and cloud, flock, grind, or merl for the blackbirds. But whatever – you know what I mean –…
John Maeda is the keynote speaker at #naisac this week and I’m looking forward to hearing him. He just shared this leadership chart and Linked-In article via Twitter and he “hopes it’s useful.” I think it is. And interesting. Interesting because thinking how this applies to business-as-usual (or not) in independent schools will take some intriguing untangling and working through.…
Yesterday PDS faculty received an email from a colleague outlining a plan for the use, care and maintenance of one of our new makerspaces. She is one of two teachers who have a created a whole scheme to ensure the room works effectively and is accessible to all classes. It’s a detailed plan with well-considered thinking about key elements of…
I’m just back from a fantastic three days at the NYSAIS STEAMCamp. Twitter: #steam13 So much to think about, so much to process and so many plans to make for the new year. Thank you to NYSAIS for hosting the event and to all the leaders, facilitators and participants. And special thanks to all my wonderful PDS colleagues. Design thinking…
Come to the Edge We might fall. Come to the edge. It’s too high! COME TO THE EDGE! And they came And he pushed And they flew. Christopher Logue “Come to the Edge” frequently misattributed to Guillaume Apollinaire Sail in a new direction Simply by sailing in a new direction You could enlarge the world Allen Curnow ‘Landfall in…
Lorrie Jackson recently interviewed me via email on the topic of heads of school and their use of social media. Her questions and my answers (slightly tidied up) are below. You can read her interviews with several heads of school here. 1. Why should heads of school be involved in social media? As the institution’s leader, school heads need to…
Teacher of the Year Anthony Mullen has another excellent Road Diary post today. At Kent State University, Ohio, he walks down a grassy slope looking back at the spot where, almost forty years ago, the National Guard stood in line to confront student war protesters. And then the fatal 13 seconds that left four students dead. Those Guardsmen and the…
“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupery There’s good provocative thinking from Umair Haque on the Harvard Business Review blog: The Builders’ Manifesto: 20th century leadership is what’s stopping 21st century…