Learning Curve – Leadership Shorts

Where the complexities of education become the lessons we learn together

Excerpt from Episode 3

“The Balcony View: Seeing Children, Systems, and Community as One”

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

The balcony view is a leadership skill. It helps us step out of the noise of daily work. From this perspective, we can see how early childhood conditions, community supports, and school systems form one interconnected ecosystem.

Building on Episodes 1 and 2, this episode explores how every choice we make — expectations, funding decisions, policies, and community norms — either expands opportunity or increases risk.

This 5–7 minute leadership short shows how stepping back to see the full ecosystem around a child leads to better decisions and stronger, more supportive systems.

A perfect episode for leaders and policymakers who want to understand how children, communities, and systems shape one another.

Produced by Dr. James Crawford. © 2025 James Crawford. All rights reserved.