The bravery of the Ukrainian people and the morality of their leadership show us the best of humanity. Jon Alexander's latest book, Citizens, reminds us of our capacity to act and "why the key to fixing everything is all of us".
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Welcome to 2022
As we enter what will soon be the third year of the pandemic, the system of education that was already stretched pre-COVID has no more give left to give. The usual 'New Year, New Start' articles seem hollow and disjointed from our reality, a goal of 'getting through' the next few weeks until Omicron (hopefully) subsides is a pragmatic approach. I will offer what I am finding helpful this January 2022 - hope beyond our current state, grounding in what matters, and a reminder of what human beings are capable of. You will find all three in this month's resources:
Mark Milliron offers us hope and a path forward in his recent article, "A New Possible in Education", while Doug Stowe's beautifully written book, "The Wisdom of our Hands", grounds us in the power of meaningful, useful, beautiful work and how it provides a path to unleash the potential that lies within each of us. Also, this conversation between Peter Senge and Theo Dawson - I always find inspiration in Theo's work in learning and assessment.
WHAT TO REMEMBER WHEN WAKING By David Whyte
From The House of Belonging, Many Rivers Press
In that first hardly noticed moment in which you wake,
coming back to this life from the other
more secret, moveable and frighteningly honest world
where everything began,
there is a small opening into the new day
which closes the moment you begin your plans.
What you can plan is too small for you to live.
What you can live wholeheartedly will make plans enough
for the vitality hidden in your sleep.
To be human is to become visible
while carrying what is hidden as a gift to others.
To remember the other world in this world
is to live in your true inheritance.
You are not a troubled guest on this earth,
you are not an accident amidst other accidents
you were invited from another and greater night
than the one from which you have just emerged.
Now, looking through the slanting light of the morning window
toward the mountain presence of everything that can be
what urgency calls you to your one love?
What shape waits in the seed of you
to grow and spread its branches
against a future sky?
Is it waiting in the fertile sea?
In the trees beyond the house?
In the life you can imagine for yourself?
In the open and lovely white page on the writing desk?
Investing in Adults to Support Students
November is upon us and the leaves have fallen here in New England. I am excited to pack my bags in just a few days to visit family in Ireland - finally, for the first time in two years, thanks to COVID. Can't wait to see everyone and catch up over good food and many cups of tea :)
In addition to the resources noted below, I encourage you to check out The 60 Year Curriculum by Chris Dede and John Richards - introductory article here and article excerpt below:
"To fulfill their responsibilities in preparing students for a turbulent, disruptive future, educators at every level are now faced with developing young people’s capacity for ceaseless self-reinvention in an uncertain and changing workplace, and for inventing and mastering occupations that do not yet exist. Students must develop personal dispositions for “thriving on chaos”: creating new value, reconciling tensions and dilemmas, and assuming moral/ethical agency on equity and respect for diversity (OECD, 2018)."
- and I would add this presents the opportunity to equip adults to develop those exact same capacities.
Student-Centered Learning
Welcome to October!
This month's resources include the NGLC’s Full Spectrum of Evidence Toolkit - the site contains information, advice, and strategies for gathering, synthesizing, and articulating evidence for the full spectrum of impacts of personalized, student-centered learning. Why a 'spectrum'? Andy Calkins, NGLC Co-Director, notes, "We chose the spectrum metaphor explicitly to help the field get past either/or dichotomies (skills vs content; traditional tests vs performance-based assessment; hard skills vs soft skills) that are a) frankly just reductionist and stupid, b) actually harmful to kids, and c) ignorant of the science of learning and development."
Also, the New School Venture Fund is leading the way in participatory grantmaking "by elevating the voices and experiences of people who are most affected by funding decisions and gives them authority in the selection process": Ceding Power: NewSchools Shifts Grantmaking Power to Parents, Students, and Education Innovators and the Davos Lab Youth Recovery Plan features "40 policy recommendations to help policymakers integrate the voices of the next generation into recovery efforts...this plan encompasses their hopes for a better future.”
Immersive Learning Opportunities
This month's resources include an immersive learning opportunity from the International Futures Forum, an article from Rita Kohli on the training and support needed “to identify, discuss, and disrupt structural racism”, and the pilot episode of Garden of Children.
- and I love this timely reminder to never underestimate what teenagers are capable of.
In times of change...
“In times of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.”
- Eric Hoffer
Photo by Håkon Grimstad on Unsplash
In addition to this month's resources brought to you by SoLD and Gallup, the Seven Transformations of Leadership HBR article is timely as we prepare for what one client recently called "Academic Year 2021-2022 or, as we refer to it around here, COVID 2.0." While we had hoped for a more optimistic start to this academic year back in May/June, the inherent complexity and uncertainty of the mutating virus takes us ever deeper into the developmental edge of school and district leadership.
In the article, Rooke and Torbert explore how a leader's "action logic" differentiates the impact of their leadership, i.e. "...how they interpret their surroundings and react when their power or safety is challenged". Every day I am seeing school leaders' power be challenged - and the Delta variant is challenging everyone's safety, with no immediate end in sight. The article discusses seven dominant ways of thinking (Opportunist, Diplomat, Expert, Achiever, Individualist, Strategist, or Alchemist) and outlines the developmental pathways to move beyond a dominant way of thinking.
As I read the article, it struck me that the majority of school cultures reflect some combination of Diplomat/Expert/Achiever - and that our VUCA reality is inviting a shift to Strategist/Alchemist: "What sets (Strategists) apart is their focus on organizational constraints and perceptions, which they treat as discussable and transformable." Rooke and Torbert's research reveals how leaders can transform themselves from one action logic to another with a brief case study for each. I encourage you to identify your own action logic shift and its associated developmental path. What is your developmental edge right now and how might you marshal the support needed to meet it?
Reflecting and Learning
This month's resources include a beautiful poem by Lana Jelenjev (HT @happystartups), an expertly produced open access series of videos from DFI’s Untold History Initiative (my favorites here), and the latest discussion paper from CCR as they continue to advance the global conversation about the necessity to develop and measure competencies in addition to knowledge.
I hope these couple of weeks before the August rush find you with some white space on your calendar and I hope you are able to carve out time to reflect on the extraordinary year you just experienced as a leader. To help your reflection, the EARCOS Journal featured the 'Leading Yourself Through Change' chapter from The Human Side of Changing Education in its Spring edition - I encourage you to map the year with the narrative arc of the Hero's Journey as described in the excerpt and to ask yourself, "What is my call to adventure in this incoming school year?".
I AM NOT PAUSING, I AM WEAVING
People judge me that I am too slow.
Too unaccomplished.
Too flighty.
Moving from one idea to another.
Or taking time to get to action.
People judge me that I am unpredictable.
That I am immersed in my own world.
In my own sense of direction.
Less driven.
Less planning.
Less on track.
People judge me that I am chaotic.
Too comfortable in emergence.
Less likely to succeed.
Too stuck in my senses
Less linear in growth.
People judge me for my decisions.
For the pivots and the changes I made.
For the potential that they saw in me
Not living up to the version they wanted to see.
Yet I traversed through life differently.
What they didn’t know was I was always in motion.
In moments that I seem stuck, unmoving, directionless,
In moments that I am choosing pathways that no one dared to go,
In moments when I chose restoration
In moments when I pause,
I was not stopping, I was weaving.
I was sensing the field of what’s to come.
I was tuning in with my inner compass.
I was finding congruence in my values,
in the expressions of my soul.
In those times I failed to meet up expectations,
I was meeting mine.
Weaving the learnings and the griefs.
Weaving the songs that fill my heart with serenity.
Weaving the people and the places that make me come alive.
In those times where I seemed immobile,
In those times where I seemed I lacked direction,
In those times where I seemed a lesser version of what you envisioned me to be,
Those were the times I am filling in my shoes.
Times where my body meets the longings of my heart and my mind.
Times where I am expanding to fullness of being.
No, I was not stuck, unmotivated, in pause.
I am weaving.
Decompressing and Moving Forward
Happy summer! I hope this finds you with white space on your calendar to decompress and unplug. Rest is not optional - for our emotional, intellectual and physical health - and when you give yourself that gift as a leader, you give others permission to do the same.
This month's resources include two new podcasts, an introduction to Henry J. Turner's inspirational work, and an invitation to join the fabulous Meghan Cureton in her learning studio.
See you next month!
EducationNow, Colina Learning Center, and a New Collaboration
Welcome to May from a gloriously sunny Massachusetts. Glimmers of a vaccinated summer are shining ever brighter and I am looking forward to exploring our local area in western Mass in the weeks and months ahead and reconnecting with friends. We moved here in December of 2019 and the summer of 2021 feels like our first summer here. Walden Pond beckons :)
This month's resources include a fantastic video series called 'EducationNow' by the Harvard Graduate School of Education, an integrated adult-child curriculum with learning pathways from 18 months to 80 years long in Romania - incredible design led by the NoTosh team, and the launch of a new collaboration with Julie Stern - starting with a blog post.
See you next month!
Let's Talk About Assessment
Welcome to April!
This month's resources focus on the topic of assessment. Shane Safir and Jamila Dugan's 'Street Data: A Next Generation Model for Equity, Pedagogy, and School Transformation' is required reading, while this Usable Knowledge research story from the Harvard Graduate School of Education provides insight into how to effectively assess creative work.
Don't miss the upcoming 'Moving Beyond “Final Exams”: Designing Student-Driven Authentic Assessments' - a free Global Online Academy event on April 29th. One of my biggest hopes as we work to build a post-COVID world, is that we radically reimagine assessment - and do not return to the assessment practices that we know actively hinder the intrinsic motivation to learn.
See you next month - by which time I hope to be vaccinated :)
Join me at the Learning & the Brain Conference
March is here and I am looking forward to warmer temps - and getting a vaccine next month, if all goes according to plan here in MA :)
This month's resources include recent data from the good folks at Gallup telling you what you probably already know (with data from 100,000 faculty and staff to prove it), a landscape analysis of the field of self-directed learning by the Institute for Self Directed Learning, and a wonderful learning opportunity from the International Futures Forum.
If you are free on Sunday April 18th, please join me as I lead a session at this year's virtual Learning & the Brain conference [The Human Side of Education: Authentic Leadership in Turbulent Times].
More info and registration here - it would be great to see you there!
A Little Book of Courage for the Big Pandemic
February is usually a tough month with its short days and long nights - and this year ever more so as we find ourselves inching closer to the one year mark of the pandemic.
As you continue to lead yourself and your community through the ongoing uncertainty, I encourage you to 'put your oxygen mask on first' and gift yourself "A Little Book of Courage for the Big Pandemic", by Cheri Lovre. It is equal parts inspiration, comfort and hope.
Cheri begins the book by helping us to situate ourselves and to map our way forward:
Source: Myers and Zunin, “Debriefing and grief: Easing the pain,” adapted by Cheri Lovre and Crisis Management Institute; rendering by Max Harless
-my own experience right now is that of a "Lingering Fog" with the promise of a "Clear Path Forward" once my family members and I are vaccinated.
As I read the book, it struck me that it would be a helpful and hopeful read for summer retreats. These retreats may or may not take place in person this year, however it is vital that you and your team take time to reflect and process the past year and look towards the future. Cheri frames this work as "Recovery and Foundation":
"To increase our chances of success, there are two different types of work we can do. The first is the work of recovery: practices that help us (and perhaps others) better manage our own confusion, anxiety, grief and trauma. Recovery is our inner work. It begins with the recognition that we can help ourselves get stronger, through reflection, conversation, and our everyday practices. The pandemic has given many of us a fresh start on what we do every day, even while coping with painful realities.
The second is the work of foundation: actively laying the groundwork to build the post-COVID world in which we want to live. This is the collective work. We reflect on the future, and we take part in conversations about our hopes, not just our fears. These can be profound and creative dialogues, in which we imagine new ways of life. The foundations of the post-COVID world are being laid down this way right now."
Cheri goes on to describe practical ways to quiet anxiety, face grief and depression, manage trauma, and recover.
If you would like to preview the book, Art Kleiner and Cheri recently posted an article on Medium here and if you would like 1:1 support, please don't hesitate to get in touch.
Take good care and I will 'see' you next month!
Julie
P.S. Click here for awe, wonder - and fun.
Introducing: A New 12-Week Coaching Program
I started my morning by reading Dr. Fauci' statement to the WHO. I felt an incredible sense of hope, optimism and faith in good action. I am hopeful that our country can begin to heal and was reminded of this quote by Timothy Patrick McCarthy in the below article:
"[Educators] are the hope-finders and freedom-dreamers of the world. And this work — our collective work — has never been more urgent."
The level of disruption our education system is experiencing right now is unparalleled. Teachers and administrators are running on fumes and we are all past the limits of our surge capacity. I have always had both feet firmly in the 'education transformation' camp, but what I sense is needed right now is not another transformation initiative, but a recognition that we must heal first. We must attend to our humanity first. Communities are divided, teachers are divided, and we find ourselves in an ongoing state of uncertainty, volatility and social isolation. We MUST attend to our humanity first. I have no answers or 'Five Point Plan' on how to do this, but rather an invitation for you to think about healing and humanity as your North Star. As always, we can't give to another what we do not have to give. You must attend to your own humanity first. How might you do that? What do you need? What is your heart asking you to give it? Listen - and then act.
This month's resources include the aforementioned article by Timothy Patrick McCarthy on Teaching and Learning Through Dangerous Times and a new 90 day coaching program grounded in Boyatzis's Intentional Change Theory. You may also notice I have changed my name - a year and a half after getting married I am finally getting around to changing it :) An updated email address will follow shortly.
Thanks as always for reading and for doing the work that is in your heart to do!
A Most Disruptive Start to the New Decade
As 2020 winds down, I am hopeful that this email finds you well, having carved out some time for at least a few days of much-needed rest and relaxation.
This month's resources highlight the necessity of taking time to recharge and its impact on our ability to be resilient, the inner and outer work of organizational change, and a compelling call to action regarding the pedagogies and assessments needed for educating the “whole child for the whole world.”
2020 marked the start of one of the most disruptive decades in our individual and collective experience. As you look forward to the rest of the decade, what is your ideal vision for your life in 2030? What will you dream, build and live? I am designing a '2030 Vision' coaching program to not only kick off the new year, but also orient you towards the life you want to design and build by 2030. More details to follow in the January 2021 newsletter.
Thank you for reading and here's to 2021 :)
“What would Steiner say that we should be doing now in our schools?”
I have always been intrigued by the Waldorf model of education and the depth of its holistic approach to human development. Given the uncertainty and complexity of our current COVID reality, I was wondering a few weeks ago if Steiner were still alive, “What would Steiner say that we should be doing now in our schools?”
2020 Reflections
It is hard to believe 2020 is rapidly drawing to a close. This past year has been a very bizarre combination of time slowing down and speeding up at the same time. As we begin to wrap up this year and orient ourselves towards the next, I encourage you to reflect on all that you have learned and what you are hoping could be possible next year. Please forward me your reflections - I would love to learn more about your 2020 learning and aspirations for the liminal potential of 2021.
I would like to highlight the work of two women whom I had the pleasure of meeting this past month - Cheree Davis and Julia Torres. Cheree is a doctoral candidate at the Johns Hopkins School of Education and has launched a new consulting company, the mission of which is to increase the number of BIPOC teachers in US schools. Julia is a 2018-20 Heinemann Fellow and the co-founder of #DisruptTexts and @TheEdCollab. She is an Educator for Liberation and disruptor of the literary canon. Two amazing women - I encourage you to check out their work.
If you are free on December 9th and 14th, please join me at the SERC Learning Revolution conference. This was originally intended to be an in-person event in Northern Ireland this past May, but COVID had other plans. :) What was to be a regional conference will now be a global one - please join us as we reflect on what we have learned in education in the last eight months and what might be possible when we emerge from this liminal state.
A Chaotic Educational World
This month's resources speak to the peril and potential of our times. We are living in a chaotic education world, children are anxious and overwhelmed, and "far too many believe that students in mostly white schools do not have to focus on racial justice". I encourage you to read the below resources - and take inspired action.
We are seven months into the global pandemic and I am seeing many education leaders hit the limits of their surge capacity. This 2002 article on Leading with an Open Heart contains timely and relevant wisdom for us all.
Thank you for reading this newsletter - and if you are a US citizen, please vote on November 3rd!
How do we lead ourselves and others through this volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous era?
As we pass the six month mark of the global pandemic, there is much to learn from each other. Since May, the Catalyst:Ed team has spoken with over 70 districts and schools that serve almost 700,000 students, blogging trends and learnings as the nation's schools respond to the global pandemic. I encourage you to check out the learning here, along with probably one of the best curated resources on independent school responses worldwide here.
How do we lead ourselves and others through this volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) era? - by embracing the adult development opportunity before us and starting with empathy and kindness towards ourselves and others. This two part webinar, The COVID Crisis and Adult Development, by Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, provides insights into the developmental challenge before us and how to leverage its inherent learning and growth.
On a related note, it's time to reduce the bureaucratic drag in our education system. Check out Gary Hamel's Bureaucratic Mass Index (BMI) survey below and learn how to excise bureaucracy and replace it with something better here.
A Crucible Moment is the Real Test of our Character
Over these past few weeks, I have been teaching a program on The Authentic Leader. Twenty-six leaders from around the world came together via Zoom to self-reflect, examine their life journey, and envision who they are (and want to be) as authentic leaders. Leaders leading organizations where people thrive and are encouraged to be themselves and where teamwork fosters inclusion and development.
During our final session, we explored participants' "crucible moments" (True North, Bill George). It struck me as I prepared for the session that every single educator is likely experiencing their own crucible moment as we prepare for the 2020/2021 academic year. A crucible moment is the real test of our character. It provides an opportunity for learning and growth and is often formative for what comes next in our life. Too often though, crucible moments can be incapacitating; they can cause anger and grief, and prompt us to feel like a victim. As a result, the temptation is to go into denial and to shut down.
How do we pull ourselves through a crucible moment? By relying on ourselves - and others. Ground yourself in your purpose, your authentic self, and your self belief that you can and will get through this. Reflect back on previous crucible moments and remind yourself how you got through them. Perhaps the most helpful strategy I have used to navigate my own crucibles has been the support of others. Surround yourself with positive, forward-thinking friends and colleagues. While nobody can do your internal work for you, these friends and colleagues provide much needed perspective, encouragement and comfort.
As we reflect on this crucible year for schools across the country, if this crucible moment is formative for what comes next, what would you like that to be? How might this crucible moment be the genesis of THAT vision?
I hope you find the below resources to be helpful this month. I will leave the last words of this newsletter to the master of the crucible, John Lewis,
"I urge you to answer the highest calling of your heart and stand up for what you truly believe."
