Educator, dad, board game geek, book reader, magic: the gathering nerd, running enthusiast, and coffee lover
Ask any high school student right now. Deadlines seem to be about as certain as death and taxes. In a conversation I had with a G11 student this week, he shared how surprised he was that he was struggling with his deadline-management skills. He was frustrated (perhaps a little angry?) that he was not more […]
“It sounds like a big self-licking lollipop” “What?” “A self-licking lollipop” “What on earth are you talking about?” I was talking to my brother over my Christmas break about my work and the world of international education. After patiently listening for some time, his paraphrasing went something like this: “So…rich folk pay to send their […]
Noticeship /ˈnəʊtɪs/ʃɪp/ n.informal. The quality or ability that elevates a person or leader to intentionally see something or someone. Resolutions As is my way this time of year, I sat down with my thoughts this morning to contemplate the new year ahead. For much of my early life, this involved me finding somewhere to sit […]
“To be noticed is to be loved.” ― Ali Smith, There but for the It starts with a belief system Making children feel noticed is arguably the most important thing we can do in schools. Why? Because my belief system is this: Noticing is the root of belonging. And belonging is the root of happy and […]
In preparation for our recent CIS and WASC (joint) preparatory evaluation visitors, I felt our school adopted a “just right” Goldilocks approach to proceedings – a lot of hard work, paced calmly and thoughtfully by a core team who distributed much of the preparatory work in a meaningful and purposeful way with a high degree […]
I’m convinced that the question of “what can we take away” has been a priority for school leaders since (at least) the Industrial Age. It has been a central theme in all my time in education, and I imagine it transcends many other work sectors too. How do we find ourselves constantly in this situation? […]
Only when I started my holiday did I realise how much I needed it. “Not cool, dad” Waiting patiently for a ride on the bumper cars with the kids, I noticed a group of young teenagers jumping the queue ahead of us and then being allowed to get away with it by the clearly intimidated […]
I picked up my son’s (Grade 6) school bag this morning and nearly pulled my arm out of its socket! I said something along these lines: “Flipping ‘ek. That’s a heavy bag. What on earth is in there?” He said something along these lines: “Yeah, it’s heavy, but I’ve been training since Grade 1 and […]
When I graduated from school, there was no graduation ceremony, no wise words to never remember, and no fanfare. We finished our exams and that was that. We parted ways, got merry (some more than others), and then we got on with the summer holidays and waited forlornly for our exam results to come in. […]
This week, I overheard an expression I hadn’t heard before. One lady was talking to another about the “strawberry” generation. I was at the supermarket (in Singapore), so I assumed something was afoot in the fruit and vegetable aisle. Curious, I walked around the aisle for a look. But there was nothing to see besides […]
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