I recently read No Rules Rules, which was by far the best book I have read this year. It was co-written by Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and Erin Meyer. The book is about how Netflix’s ‘no rules’ culture has helped to provide and sustain its competitive edge. Rules and top-down controls, it seems, just get […]
Rigour It is that time of year when schools ramp up their efforts to attract new families. I know this because those hidden algorithms on my social media have started spamming me with school admissions adverts for the next academic year. This AI intrusion always irritates me, but it has also allowed me to notice […]
Mitchel Resnick, LEGO Papert Professor of Learning Research at the MIT Media Lab, offers a helpful metaphor to use when designing learning: build “high ceilings, low floors and wide walls”. A colleague introduced me to this wonderful metaphor when working at the International Baccalaureate a couple of years ago. It has been playing on my mind […]
“I am Loki of Asgard and I am burdened with glorious purpose” First uttered by Loki in the first Avengers film, these words are the culmination of his ambition to rise to what he believes is his pre-ordained right to power. At the risk of being a spoiler, it doesn’t end well for Loki. The […]
“What grade did you get?” I hear this too often in schools. And it pains me. The grade delusion Etched into several of my childhood core memories is the experience of being given back assignments by my teacher. There was a familiar pattern that I recognise now. The teacher, slowly walking around the classroom, hands […]
Our leadership team has had the same conversation with staff for the last 3 weekends: Friday afternoon: “Ok, we are all set for Monday. Thanks for the hours of planning this week to get this right…” Saturday morning: “Ah, sorry to interrupt your weekend. New changes just announced. New plan needed for Monday…” It feels […]
When I was growing up I wanted to work on a starship. Science Officer or Captain – I wasn’t too fussed. I just loved the idea of flying out into the unknown, meeting new people, and exploring strange new worlds. Throughout my life, I have embraced leadership challenges and intentionally taken myself out of my […]
Derek Sivers says that we should let pedestrians define the walkways. Here’s his anecdote: A new college campus was built, but one thing was still debated: where in the grass should we put the paved walkways? Some people thought the walkways should go around the grass, to leave it green. Some thought the walkways should […]
This week, a student asked me if she could take some action to show support for a climate cause that is important to her. It involved wearing different clothes for the day and so she was asking for my permission to promote it school-wide at very short notice. If I said yes I might be […]
For home-learning last week, my little daughter was asked to research historical events about the 1st March. It was an interesting activity that stimulated a lot of conversation at home (did you know that Henri Becquerel discovered radioactivity on 1st March 1869?) and I was so pleased to see the value and enjoyment that she […]
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