Thoughts on Education, Leadership, and Life from an Outsider
ETS and MTC have joined forces to enhance skills assessment and learning records for learners.
The ETS & MTC partnership aims to shift focus from courses and grades to personalized learning experiences and skills transcripts for all learners. This collaboration is a significant step towards capturing and communicating capabilities more descriptively at scale. It provides a pathway to replace traditional transcripts with competency-based records for learners applying to colleges and jobs.
The only thing of real importance that leaders do is to create and manage culture. If you do not manage culture, it manages you, and you may not even be aware of the extent to which this is happening.
Edgar Schein
I’m reading An Uncommon Theory of School Change for a class, and the image text struck me. Actually, it knocked me to the floor.
Specifically, the idea of “shared assumptions” among a school’s teachers and staff. Every organization has these shared assumptions, and they all influence how the day-to-day functions of the organization, specifically in defining the organization’s culture, as Ed Schein explained.
So, why are these shared assumptions important in our schools?
Easy: they play a large part in how students learn. If teachers have decided, perhaps with the best of intentions, that “our kids can’t do that“–whatever that is–then it’s highly likely that the kids won’t do that.
(Somehow, this has turned into a bad commentary on one of Meat Loaf’s greatest hits…)
This line of thinking also shows up in John Hattie’s work, as teacher estimates of achievement significantly impact student learning.
Part of our work to change schools should involve a hard look at our shared assumptions and, perhaps, some adjustments to those assumptions.
After all, you know what happens when you assume something…
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Sometimes, the barriers we have, personally or professionally, are ones that are buried deep down and are limitations we set on ourselves. To overcome them, we must identify them and face our own internal realities.
George Couros
George Couros delves into the importance of recognizing and confronting personal and professional barriers to progress. Drawing parallels from his marathon training experience, Couros illustrates how identifying and overcoming internal limitations is crucial for personal growth and success.
He extends this lesson to educational leadership, emphasizing the need for open communication about problems to foster solutions and progress in school communities.
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In case you haven’t heard, there’s a huge scandal in the world of chess. I’m fascinated by the game even though I’m a terrible player. Maybe I’ll dedicate some time to learn like an athlete and become a more respectable chess player.
I bring up the story of Hans Moke Niemann to talk a bit about the pressure our students put on themselves. Of course, sometimes they’re pressured to achieve by parents or other family members, but many times it’s the student’s inner demons pushing them to do and be more.
I wonder what other instances of cheating we’ll find in the next few years if we can’t find a way to move away from pursuing high-stakes achievement. We’ve already seen a college admissions scandal and now an alleged instance of cheating in the exclusive world of chess.
There has to be a better way.
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