Jul 23
Canada has one of the best education systems in the world. This is especially true when you consider that the majority of students are educated in public schools, the vast diversity within our classrooms and the highly inclusive environment we continually cultivate. Most countries marvel at the results we consistently get year in and year …
Jan 08
Below is a great visual provided by Dr. Amy Edmondson that links psychological safety to performance standards. In the visual, she identifies four zones that people within organizations reside based on the relationship between psychological safety and performance. Great leaders understand the importance of psychological safety in the workplace. There is no doubt that it …
Apr 13
I was born in the early 60’s and grew up in a traditional family setting for the time. Dad worked and for the majority of my school days, especially when I was young, I had a stay-at-home mom. We always had time for family supper and found time to attend church. I had a fairly …
Nov 21
Alberta continues to be recognized as one of the best educational systems in the English speaking world. Parental choice, high-quality teaching, centralized curriculum and significant government funding are examples of the many reasons for this recognition. Given that, it may be surprising to many of our public that Alberta Education and local divisions continue to …
Oct 21
When I first began my career in education, great teaching was often defined by a classroom where students sat quietly in rows. There was such an emphasis placed on classroom management as an effective teaching tool. And while I believe that classroom management is required for excellent teaching to occur, students sitting quietly in rows …
Aug 23
Last week, I participated in our annual summer conference in beautiful Waterton Parks National Park. This event brings together senior administrators from 10 school divisions in southern Alberta as well as representatives from Alberta Education, CASS, ASBOA, ASBA and ASCA. It signals the beginning of the school year for us and provides an excellent opportunity …
Jul 19
There is no doubt that public education in North America is under attack. The lack of confidence is more pronounced south of the border than here in Canada. But even so, everybody has an opinion on education and more often than not a ready-made solution for our ills. Just because you attended school or you are …
Jul 10
During my opening address to staff last year I termed the phrase “Fail Forward” as a way to promote an environment of risk taking and culture of transformation. Although I was fairly confident in my own definition of the phrase, I erred in not fully understanding the potentially negative connotation of it. Failure is not a word that …
Jun 24
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 …