This past Friday I addressed the graduates of St. Mary School in Taber. Enclosed is the short message I delivered that evening. Enjoy! Good Evening Ladies & Gentlemen, honored guests and graduates of 2012. It is always an honor to bring greetings on behalf of the division at graduation ceremonies. And coming back to Taber brings such …
Category: Educational Updates
Jun 24
Evolving Practice
I was struck by a conversation I was involved in with our leadership program participants last week. We began to reminisce about the teachers who had taught us and some of the practices that were considered the “norm” in those days! Each of us could recount many examples of those teachers who made such a positive …
Jun 17
Don’t forget to celebrate!
The school year in Alberta is coming to a close and it will coincide with my first year of blogging anniversary. What began as a desire to simply communicate from the my office has developed into an almost weekly personal education reflection. Upon reviewing my yearly blog posts, I would suggest that the vast majority …
Jun 13
Where lies the enemy?
There is considerable finger pointing in our world today. We’ve replaced responsibility with accountability. Too often, society is quick to blame somebody or something else for their own woes. This really struck a chord a couple of weeks ago when I was involved in a Twitter chat that blamed everything beyond themselves. Even trying to …
May 27
Educators need Twitter!
I read a message while following the chat at #connectedca that stated, “I’ve learned more from Twitter in the last year than in the last 5 years of PD activities.” This message was similar to one I provided at my opening address beginning this year. This does not imply that I have not attended some powerful professional …
May 21
The importance of play!
This past week I visited one of our Pre-Kindergarten classrooms to observe their Science Fair. Imagine that! Four year olds with their parents engaged in neat experiments, laughing and learning through play. When I reflect on the activities I witnessed, two main messages come through loud and clear. The first message is targeted at parents. …
May 13
Living and Learning
This weekend I provided messages to the graduation classes of Catholic Central High School in Lethbridge and St. Michael’s School in Pincher Creek. With both convocations being on the same day, it was a mad dash to finish up with CCH in the morning and then drive the 1 hour to arrive in time for …
Apr 30
Mythical barriers to transformation
In the last couple of weeks, I’ve either read or been told that Provincial Achievement Tests (PAT’s) and some other standardized tests are barriers for teachers and systems to transform. I’ve made my beliefs about Provincial Achievement Tests well known to our administrators. I had hoped that this message was also firmly established within our staff and …
Apr 22
A message to the government
Tomorrow, Albertans go to the polls. This provincial election has been one of the most intriguing in many years as there appears to be no clear cut majority. However, that decision will be left up to all of the people who cast their votes for the candidate and party of their choice. My blog today is …
Apr 15
Dissatisfied not critical
Last week, I read the LeadershipFreak blog, “Being Dissatisfied without Becoming Critical.” I’m a great fan of the Leadership Freak but this post has haunted me ever since I read it. A leader, a teacher, even a parent has that same challenge. We are all dissatisfied with something or somebody, but the key point is to …