Learning to Change

Why do we as parents and educators push our kids to do “whatever it takes” to get into the best college they can? We think we are helping our kids, but are we really setting them up for all kinds of challenges in which they cannot be successful? Do we tie our own self-worth into their accomplishments? Do we realize the connection between our “pushing” and the increase in anxiety and suicidal ideation?

All those questions are up for discussion in our latest podcast with Dr. David Gleason, author of At What Cost: Defending Adolescent Development in Fiercely Competitive Schools. It's a book that will make you uncomfortable in a much-needed way. I met David last month on a trip to Johannesburg, South Africa, and his presentation there was my most profound learning moment to date in 2018. Our conversation touches on the bind we are in as educators, parents, and society when it comes to keeping our most heartfelt commitments to our kids. Join me as we talk with David about his book and the research that brought it about—and prepare to be challenged.

We flaunt our success in front of our children, making them think they have to compete with us.

Why the emphasis on the narrow path of academic success? There are many reasons for this, such as the economy, securing our kids’ futures, and the college application process. All of this is leading to more stress, more anxiety, and an increasingly louder problem of suicidal thoughts in our children. David discusses his research into brain science, “immunity to change,” and much, much more. We must recognize the bind we’re in, the problem at the heart of it, and what’s keeping us in this pattern. We overschedule, overwork, and overwhelm our kids---and they are paying the price.

Resources:

Leadership Without Easy Answers by Ron Heifetz

At What Cost: Defending Adolescent Development in Fiercely Competitive Schools by Dr. David Gleason

Immunity to Change: How to Overcome It and Unlock the Potential in Yourself and Your Organization (Leadership for the Common Good) by Robert Kegan

Why do we as parents and educators push our kids to do “whatever it takes” to get into the best college they can? We think we are helping our kids, but are we really setting them up for all kinds of challenges in which they cannot be successful? Do we tie our own self-worth into their accomplishments? Do we realize the connection between our “pushing” and the increase in anxiety and suicidal ideation?

All those questions are up for discussion in our latest podcast with Dr. David Gleason, author of At What Cost: Defending Adolescent Development in Fiercely Competitive Schools. It's a book that will make you uncomfortable in a much-needed way. I met David last month on a trip to Johannesburg, South Africa, and his presentation there was my most profound learning moment to date in 2018. Our conversation touches on the bind we are in as educators, parents, and society when it comes to keeping our most heartfelt commitments to our kids. Join me as we talk with David about his book and the research that brought it about—and prepare to be challenged.

We flaunt our success in front of our children, making them think they have to compete with us.

Why the emphasis on the narrow path of academic success? There are many reasons for this, such as the economy, securing our kids’ futures, and the college application process. All of this is leading to more stress, more anxiety, and an increasingly louder problem of suicidal thoughts in our children. David discusses his research into brain science, “immunity to change,” and much, much more. We must recognize the bind we’re in, the problem at the heart of it, and what’s keeping us in this pattern. We overschedule, overwork, and overwhelm our kids---and they are paying the price.

Resources:

Leadership Without Easy Answers by Ron Heifetz

At What Cost: Defending Adolescent Development in Fiercely Competitive Schools by Dr. David Gleason

Immunity to Change: How to Overcome It and Unlock the Potential in Yourself and Your Organization (Leadership for the Common Good) by Robert Kegan

Templestowe College, or TC as we call it in Victoria, Australia, was built to accommodate 1,000 students. At the start of 2010, those numbers had dwindled down to just over 200. Peter Hutton took on the challenge of rebuilding the school, despite severe challenges. Today, you will get to hear the story of the past 7 years, and how Peter revolutionized one school by testing assumptions and changing the way they thought about education.

TC desperately needed a new brand and a new vision. Peter was longing to see how a school could actually nurture their students while also instilling in them the skills and knowledge they will need to succeed in life. Peter will describe for you today how those logistics play out for TC students today. We will also discuss how the students, parents, and staff have all responded to the changes over the past 7 years. TC is producing committed, happy students with impressive work ethic and a thirst for learning. Peter claims that culture was built from the top down, and now he is working to consult with other schools to try and scale these principles for everyone to use.

Peter will be the first to say that the world does not need more TCs. He is excited about a future of education where it is guided by a vision of support and respect for students. We can learn a lot from administrators and visionaries like Peter!

Resources:

Change Leaders

Templestowe College

 

Templestowe College, or TC as we call it in Victoria, Australia, was built to accommodate 1,000 students. At the start of 2010, those numbers had dwindled down to just over 200. Peter Hutton took on the challenge of rebuilding the school, despite severe challenges. Today, you will get to hear the story of the past 7 years, and how Peter revolutionized one school by testing assumptions and changing the way they thought about education.

TC desperately needed a new brand and a new vision. Peter was longing to see how a school could actually nurture their students while also instilling in them the skills and knowledge they will need to succeed in life. Peter will describe for you today how those logistics play out for TC students today. We will also discuss how the students, parents, and staff have all responded to the changes over the past 7 years. TC is producing committed, happy students with impressive work ethic and a thirst for learning. Peter claims that culture was built from the top down, and now he is working to consult with other schools to try and scale these principles for everyone to use.

Peter will be the first to say that the world does not need more TCs. He is excited about a future of education where it is guided by a vision of support and respect for students. We can learn a lot from administrators and visionaries like Peter!

Resources:

Change Leaders

Templestowe College

It’s time to get a little existential. In this episode, my friend an colleague Bruce Dixon and I are discussing the profound artistry of teaching. Fueled by our mutual love of the works of Seymour Sarason, Bruce and I are going to weigh in on some of the topics mentioned in our last Shifting Conversations blog post. Namely, we want to discuss how the line we’ve been fed about learning is damaging our students and no longer serving them. We also want to discuss why it is so difficult for schools to change, and the kinds of cultural and societal biases we will face when changes happen.

Above all else, educators want to create conditions that will make kids want to learn. Currently, educators spend a lot of their time engaging their pupils around content they have no interest in and no context for. Sarason and other thought leaders like him know that productive learning happens when they are taught prescriptively. We need to be on the frontlines encouraging schools to shift their focus away from a set curriculum to tailoring education for each student’s needs and interests. This will certainly increase the need for teaching artistry, and we will need to battle some of the inherent fears when it comes to change.

Yes, we are doing this in the name of encouraging kids to become lifelong learners. Hopefully, changes to our schools will decrease achievement anxiety and create happy kids. It’s going to take a lot of work, and we are going to have to face some deeply rooted systematic problems. Our education system is facing an existential crisis. We can be the solution.

Resources:

Works by Seymour Sarason 

 

It’s time to get a little existential. In this episode, my friend an colleague Bruce Dickson and I are discussing the profound artistry of teaching. Fueled by our mutual love of the works of Seymour Sarason, Bruce and I are going to weigh in on some of the topics mentioned in our last Shifting Conversations blog post. Namely, we want to discuss how the line we’ve been fed about learning is damaging our students and no longer serving them. We also want to discuss why it is so difficult for schools to change, and the kinds of cultural and societal biases we will face when changes happen.

Above all else, educators want to create conditions that will make kids want to learn. Currently, educators spend a lot of their time engaging their pupils around content they have no interest in and no context for. Sarason and other thought leaders like him know that productive learning happens when they are taught prescriptively. We need to be on the frontlines encouraging schools to shift their focus away from a set curriculum to tailoring education for each student’s needs and interests. This will certainly increase the need for teaching artistry, and we will need to battle some of the inherent fears when it comes to change.

Yes, we are doing this in the name of encouraging kids to become lifelong learners. Hopefully, changes to our schools will decrease achievement anxiety and create happy kids. It’s going to take a lot of work, and we are going to have to face some deeply rooted systematic problems. Our education system is facing an existential crisis. We can be the solution.

Resources:

Works by Seymour Sarason 

Today’s show is another one of the “thought exercise” episodes, so get ready for your thinking to be challenged! We’re discussing a book that came out about 20 years ago, The Answer to How is Yes, by Peter Block. This book twists the way we think about how change happens and explores the relationship between HOW and WHY regarding the work we do in schools. Most often, we go for predictability and control rather than risk anxiety and adventure in pursuing our educational goals. Block explains how we look for external validation of our work instead of defining ourselves by what WE say matters. So, the bottom line may be to define what really matters to us in education.

We are taking a brief look at a brand-new book, The Case Against Education, by Bryan Caplan. He states that we need LESS education, not more. His premise is that our educational system wastes much time and energy, teaching skills that don’t really help students in real life. The answer, according to Caplan, is to offer an educational system based on apprenticeships and job training. We must admit that, whether you totally agree with Caplan or not, there is truth behind his argument, and the concept deserves our consideration.

Resources:

The Answer to How is Yes by Peter Block

The Case Against Education by Bryan Caplan

Today’s show is another one of the “thought exercise” episodes, so get ready for your thinking to be challenged! We’re discussing a book that came out about 20 years ago, The Answer to How is Yes, by Peter Block. This book twists the way we think about how change happens and explores the relationship between HOW and WHY regarding the work we do in schools. Most often, we go for predictability and control rather than risk anxiety and adventure in pursuing our educational goals. Block explains how we look for external validation of our work instead of defining ourselves by what WE say matters. So, the bottom line may be to define what really matters to us in education.

We are taking a brief look at a brand-new book, The Case Against Education, by Bryan Caplan. He states that we need LESS education, not more. His premise is that our educational system wastes much time and energy, teaching skills that don’t really help students in real life. The answer, according to Caplan, is to offer an educational system based on apprenticeships and job training. We must admit that, whether you totally agree with Caplan or not, there is truth behind his argument, and the concept deserves our consideration.

Resources:

The Answer to How is Yes by Peter Block

The Case Against Education by Bryan Caplan

In today’s conversation, we take a deep dive into a recent article in The Guardian by Cathy Davidson, a professor at City University of New York. Cathy says we have to “reverse the outcome-oriented educational monster we have unleashed . . .” We also are discussing Peter Gray’s article in Psychology Today, “The Joy and Sorrow of Re-reading John Holt’s How Children Learn”. In considering these articles, we step deeper and ask the question, “Are we doing the right thing in schools to begin with?”

In higher education, we keep doing more of the same, but aren’t we just creating robots in classrooms? We are critical of students’ skill sets, but what are we doing to prepare them for the real world? Do we value the skills that children learn outside of school? Do we allow them to create with technology? We have to take an honest look at these questions and more about what we are doing in schools because we can’t assume that change in schools is coming in the future. Sadly, the bottom line is that we are NOT doing the right thing in schools.

Resources:

www.change.school  Find out about getting on the waiting list for the upcoming Cohort 5

www.changeleaders.community

Now You See It by Cathy Davidson

The Joy and Sorry of Rereading Holt's "How Children Learn"

Our Favorite Podcast Episodes:

Mastery Transcripts with Scott Looney

Past, Present, and Future of the Internet

 

In today’s conversation, we take a deep dive into a recent article in The Guardian by Cathy Davidson, a professor at City University of New York. Cathy says we have to “reverse the outcome-oriented educational monster we have unleashed . . .” We also are discussing Peter Gray’s article in Psychology Today, “The Joy and Sorrow of Re-reading John Holt’s How Children Learn”. In considering these articles, we step deeper and ask the question, “Are we doing the right thing in schools to begin with?”

In higher education, we keep doing more of the same, but aren’t we just creating robots in classrooms? We are critical of students’ skill sets, but what are we doing to prepare them for the real world? Do we value the skills that children learn outside of school? Do we allow them to create with technology? We have to take an honest look at these questions and more about what we are doing in schools because we can’t assume that change in schools is coming in the future. Sadly, the bottom line is that we are NOT doing the right thing in schools.

Resources:

www.change.school  Find out about getting on the waiting list for the upcoming Cohort 5

www.changeleaders.community

Now You See It by Cathy Davidson

The Joy and Sorry of Rereading Holt's "How Children Learn"

Our Favorite Podcast Episodes:

Mastery Transcripts with Scott Looney

Past, Present, and Future of the Internet