It's that time of the year in the life of an international school. Teachers, administrators, and staff seem to have a never ending to do list and many students, teachers and families may be facing significant transitions in their lives. This reality can occasionally cause us to miss what is right; to allow exhaustion and even... Continue Reading →
"She would make us greet her each morning with a Gutten Morgen, Frau Sauer! She chastised those who made mistakes while reading aloud and made them wear dunce hats for the rest of the day," my husband recalled about his grade two teacher. He shared that memory after learning that his old elementary school faces an... Continue Reading →
"It is, in fact, possible for students to experience a real joy of learning in a way that reinforces—not comes at the expense of—developing critical skills.” Tony Wagner Joyful learning is a key idea embedded in our vision, and so as I walk about our campuses, I often rejoice in the way in which joyful learning is... Continue Reading →
A recently published The New Yorker article, How People Learn to Become Resilient, caused me to stop and think about the word resiliency, what it truly means and how wonderful, and beneficial, it is that we as a school have chosen to emphasize the explicit teaching of learning dispositions, Resilience being one of them. I... Continue Reading →
Two years ago, inspired by the work of Harvey and Daniels, we began to experiment with a different approach to parent education, Community Inquiry Circles (CICs) . Our purpose? To engage our diverse, and somewhat transient parent community with the Core of JIS. An inquiry circle is a learning strategy that allows a group of... Continue Reading →
Our school has a newly formed elementary school leadership team made up of three learning leaders, two vice principals and one principal. The creation of the team was the result of moving to a one principal concept, to lead the work of the fine professionals working at JIS' two elementary campuses. When I accepted the opportunity to assume... Continue Reading →
The process of drafting Challenge Planners has greatly guided our efforts to focus, clarify, and simplify. Central to this year's ES planner is the idea that inquiry is a lens through which we approach teaching and learning. This journey really began five years ago, as we aimed to reach JIS' Dream One: Integrating Relevant, Experiential and Contemporary Learning and... Continue Reading →
The Dragon Fountain (Courtesy of Agus Irwanan)So much has happened since I last wrote in this blog. Before I revive it fully, I want to acknowledge a moment in my professional journey that has had a significant impact on my growth as a person, and as a leader. There is no intention on my part to... Continue Reading →
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6ZifjWftc8 Interesting to find this video clip in my Twitter feed today... I just finished drafting a note I want to send out to teachers seeking their feedback on me. The note is simple (and sincere) and I hope many take me up on the offer of sharing their thoughts on how I add value... Continue Reading →
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhXJe8ANws8&feature=youtu.be Another great video clearly re-defining what it means to collaborate, and clarifying the differences between cooperation and collaboration.
Inquiring, Leading & Learning 