I met Morgan (now my wife of almost 18 years) at Cal Poly. She had just graduated high school and as we were getting to know each other, she would often tell these fond stories of what seemed to me like a mythical place. She claimed to have gone to a high school where studentsContinue reading “Thank you, Del Oro… and Goodbye for now”
Category Archives: Values
An Invitation for Outsiders & Insiders
Many people have pointed out that one way of looking at the prophet Jonah is as a classic nationalist. You could say he believes in Israel. Israel should be first. He is with the chosen children of God, not the gentiles, and definitely not the Ninevites. Now, his nationalism… maybe it’s the subtle kind. He’sContinue reading “An Invitation for Outsiders & Insiders”
Attempted Escape
Yesterday was the first of my two-part sermon series on the Book of Jonah. This is a story about Jonah, and it’s a story about Israel, and it’s a story about me. And one thing that’s true for all of us, is that the call of God is often clear. It’s often as clear asContinue reading “Attempted Escape”
Relationships Matter
As part of the administrative credential program that I have been working my way through for several months, we’ve had the opportunity to read several case studies and scenarios dealing with students, staff, and parents. What’s interesting about these scenarios is the massive range of situations that you could potentially find yourself in as aContinue reading “Relationships Matter”
California Ed Code 48907
I know. It’s a catchy title for a blog post. California Educational Code 48907 has to do with students’ freedom of speech rights. Here’s an excerpt: “Pupils of the public schools, including charter schools, shall have the right to exercise freedom of speech and of the press including, but not limited to, the use ofContinue reading “California Ed Code 48907”
Racial Bias in Parent Communication
Several months ago I completed a quick online test from Project Implicit that was designed to measure implicit stereotyping and biases. The process was really thought-provoking and it led to several good conversations with colleagues about how we interact with students. One thing that I hadn’t considered at the time was how dramatically an educator’sContinue reading “Racial Bias in Parent Communication”
Understanding vs. Appreciating
I read a case study this week that ended up leading to some great discussion with a few colleagues. The study told the story of a 13 year old Vietnamese boy named Khoi who had lived with his mother in Seattle for the last 8 months. Khoi was suspended from school for 5 days forContinue reading “Understanding vs. Appreciating”
Cultural Mindfulness
In a Forbes article from 2015 called Why You Need Cultural Intelligence, folks from the IESE Business School explain the concept of cultural intelligence as a sort of x-factor that has the potential to “drive up innovation and creativity” as it allows someone to integrate different perspectives across cultural barriers. They talk about the immenseContinue reading “Cultural Mindfulness”
What’s your passion?
We talked about the makings of a great leaders this week. The discussion started with an examination of James Kouzes and Barry Posner’s list of “Ten Truths About Leadership.” The truths they list are helpful but not surprising. They mention things like believing in yourself, building credibility, developing relationships, sticking to you values, etc. AsContinue reading “What’s your passion?”
Another List – Teacher Traits
I had fun writing last week’s list but I didn’t think that I’d make a habit of it. But then someone posed this question yesterday to a group of educators I’m a part of: “What traits make up a good teacher?” If this doesn’t lend itself to another list, I don’t know what does. TheContinue reading “Another List – Teacher Traits”
Mr. Zerwas Teaches Here 