Working With Children With Challenging Behaviours? This Changes Everything
There is a simple mistake that the vast majority of us as parents and educators make when dealing with challenging behaviours: we focus on the behaviour. When we focus on the problem behaviour, most of...
View ArticleSports Day: Shifting From Competition to Inclusion
Last year at James Hill, we made the decision to move away from points and 1st-4th place finishes for our annual elementary school Sports Day. We felt that the focus on points and winning was...
View Article10 Secrets to Raising an Award-Winning Student (a slightly cynical post)
It is no secret that I have concerns with the focus on awards in schools. For the past 9 years, I have been privileged to work as a principal in two different school communities who have both moved...
View ArticleMoving Beyond the Sit ‘n Git Model of Professional Development
This post was originally written for the Canadian Education Association in 2015. I believe it is still relevant and important today. I often wonder if what we see as teaching at professional learning...
View Article5 Reasons to Rethink Awards Ceremonies
As we near the end of March, many schools have moved into the final term of the year and this often leads to discussions about awards ceremonies in schools. I recently had the honour of travelling to...
View ArticleReconsidering the ‘Celebration’ of Canada’s 150 Years
As we near July 1 and have the opportunity to join millions of Canadians celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday, I cannot help but think about those who will not exactly be celebrating the past 150 years. I...
View ArticleWhat PROBLEM are we trying to solve?
This is a post in which I am sort of “thinking out loud” so I would love your thoughts. I went for breakfast with a great critical friend of mine, Brian Kuhn, a few weeks ago. Brian is the CIO…...
View ArticleAvoid Binary Thinking. Go To The Grey.
Much of what we do in education falls into grey areas. Yet, many of the conversations we have regarding education seem to use black and white statements and fall into the category of binary, or...
View ArticleFlexible Seating: What’s the Point?
I realize it is summer but some educators are have been reflecting on their current classroom set up or changes they have recently made to decide on what their classroom will look like next year. I...
View ArticleSchool Growth: Small Changes Lead to BIG Impact
“If we create a culture where every teacher believes they need to improve, not because they are not good enough, but because they can be even better, there is no limit to what we can achieve.” — Dylan...
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