April 14th Newsletter

In this week’s newsletter, I blog about a holy brother I met in North Dakota, a simple story which surfaced last week.  I hope spring has sprung in your world.  Here in Montana, we’re still waiting!

The Top 5 this week:

1. The first article of the Leadership section is about the Wallace Foundation’s latest principal study. They found impacts on student learning through their program.
2. In the Leadership section, I included Jennifer Gonzalez’s South by Southwest talk “The Aerodynamics of Exceptional Schools.” It’s a long one (55 minutes) but is really thought-provoking.  Jennifer runs the “Cult of Pedagogy” website and is fill of great ideas.
3. The first article in the Teaching & Learning section “Teaching for Deeper Learning” from the Harvard Graduate School of Education is filled with practical tips for teachers.
4. The second article from Pernille Ripp is topical for today “A Few Things to Do Before the End of the Year.” Pernille is a great blogger and is worth the follow.
5. In the Miscellany section, the first article from Farnam Street is entitled “How Mental Models Unlock Your Thinking.” Shane Parrish has just published a book on mental models and I can’t wait to read it.

April 7th Newsletter

In this week’s newsletter, I blog about the laity’s role in combatting clericalism and then include a number of great articles.  The top 5:

1. The first article in the American Catholic News section is from NCR and focuses on a tour of Indian Catholic schools in Montana and South Dakota I took last fall. It’s a great look at the challenges and successes of those schools.
2. In the Leadership section, the first article (from HBR) focuses on how to accept and process criticism, “How to Keep Criticism from Undermining Your Confidence.” In this season when school leaders are evaluating and being evaluated, this article should help.
3. The next article is a summary of a podcast on managing adult conflict. This is the conflict season!
4. In the Teaching & Learning section, the first article is a blog by David Guerin on lifelong learning. We often purport to want students to become lifelong learners, but how well are we modeling this?
5. In the miscellaneous section, the first article on attention management in the New York Times was very thought-provoking. As my number of tasks keeps adding up, the article is a reminder of how valuable even 15 minutes can be to focus on a project.