The start of summer, when the sun urges us into shorts, t-shirts and bare feet and warm days glide into twilight, marks the start of a season unlike any other. Summer is when parents and children both sense a freedom to be and grow in new ways unencumbered by the conventions of autumn, winter and […]
‘Cool School’ dials it in …
In January I began volunteering in ‘Cool School’, an after-school program in a local highschool that opens up the wood, metal and auto shops to kids of all ages and abilities, one day a week, 3 – 8 pm. Cool School has simple guidelines for kids: be safe and have fun, and correspondingly simple guidelines […]
’21st Century Learning’ needs to connect to nature and the numinous
I was recently asked by my wife, in the course of researching her Masters thesis in SelfDesign Graduate Institute, to reflect on life experiences that provided me with an experience of ‘beauty’. I had no trouble landing on two experiences I had as a child, both during summertime, both outside of schooling, and each of […]
‘BC’s ‘Innovation Strategy’ breathes new life into Personalized Learning for BC schools
It’s amazing what a good look in the mirror and a fresh coat of paint can do to revive almost-forgotten projects. On January 29th, the BC Ministry of Education convened a remarkable forum at the Wosk Centre with headline speakers and a gallery of people from business, educational and social interests. The forum was staged […]
“Good, meaningful education meets each child where they are”
“Good, meaningful education meets each child where they are” are the words of the late Dr. Stanley Greenspan in his book, The Learning Tree. Stanley Greenspan won numerous awards for his work on developmental psychiatry and he was the author of 40 books (!) and numerous papers on development, learning, parenting and supporting children with […]
Medieval Education Practices Must Evolve, Now!
“Medieval“: pertaining to the Middle or Dark Ages, a period characterized by primitive practices shaped by ill-formed knowledge. Our society has evolved in remarkable ways in my lifetime, inspiring me to believe that human beings just might squeak through to survive another century or millennium. We have extended life expectancies, we have scientifically detailed the […]
Innovation Valued & Revered in Business, MIA in Education
Innovation must wonder why it is as cast as society’s bi-polar child. On the one hand it thrives in business, technology and health-care, domains to which we flock to see the latest gadgetry, invest in start-up opportunities, even volunteer to join beta-testing groups. This past week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas was a perfect […]
Help Make 2014 a ‘Year of Learning Dangerously’ – and how
Memo from the “Creating Our Best Future” Dept.: As a learning innovator I see widely divergent gestures toward the nurturing of learning across education, gestures that have significant implications throughout society. And in scanning the education landscape my emotions in the past year swung from arm-pumping enthusiasm to head-shaking discouragement. With this in mind and […]
The leaning tower of PISA (testing)
Among top news items last week, prior to being eclipsed by the death of Nelson Mandela, was the release of the most recent PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) testing results. If you want to learn more about PISA you might check here, but, in a nutshell, PISA tests are for 15-year old international students […]
Michael’s book, Learn Your Way! SelfDesigning the Life You Really Want, Starting Now is an ERAC-approved middle and high school textbook for career planning and health education courses (British Columbia), and it has received many endorsements. Contact Michael directly to obtain a pdf copy of the book.