Positive School Culture
An easy, objective way to assess beneficial behaviors and interactions in your schools.
Continue reading →Tom Hierck
Mentor – Have One, Be One
The role mentoring plays in our lives has been generating a lot of dialogue recently. I love the fact that the word “mentor” can be a noun (an experienced and trusted advisor) or a verb (advise or train someone) as … Continue reading →
Can We Agree That All Means ALL?
I attended the recent Title 1 conference in Salt Lake City and was pleased to sit alongside Chris Weber and Shane Templeton on a panel facilitated by Lissa Pijanowski to talk about our work and reference the RTI Roadmap that … Continue reading →
Your Next First Step
I was fortunate to spend time with two schools this past week and have enjoyed an ongoing connection with them for almost three years. Over that time we’ve looked at curriculum design, assessment practice, school culture, leadership, and response to … Continue reading →
Through A Fresh Set of Eyes (Lessons Learned from Liam)
Like I hope many of you did, I took the last two weeks of 2014 to relax, refresh, and recharge. I tried to be very disciplined in not getting swept up in work. Having our kids and grandkids with us … Continue reading →
Dealing With the Yeah, Buts (One at a Time)
I’ve been speaking and writing a lot lately about content versus intent. I believe we are at a period in education where we know more about teaching and learning than ever before. I am always inspired by what colleagues share … Continue reading →
What is the “Value-Added” in Schools Today?
The last month has seen extensive travel (over 25,000 km flown) and wonderful opportunities to connect with colleagues from all over Canada and the United States. I’ve been focusing some of my work around the concept of “value-added” in schools … Continue reading →
There’s Really Only One R to Focus On…
Throughout the history of education we’ve heard about the importance of the three R’s (even though only one of the words actually starts with an R!) as the foundation of good schooling. As the last long weekend of summer break … Continue reading →
Connecting the Dots
I enjoy so many aspects of my current work world and I believe that enjoyment is largely driven by the variety of educators I’ve been able to meet and their contributions to my knowledge base. I’ve had so many unique … Continue reading →
New-Old Learning
When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. This line has been attributed to various sources and I have not tracked the origin with any authenticity. It’s not mine but it did come to me during some recent work … Continue reading →