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Something weird happens when we change places. When teachers become ‘Administrators’ ( a label I really wish we would change….people follow leaders, not ‘administrators’ ). 

When learning designers (like me) design workshops for teachers that seem so good in theory but don’t transfer into the classroom. It’s somehow, distinctly, another place.

I was raised in a 'working class' family in the wilds of Lincolnshire. I went to an all-boys 'Grammar School' which I hated. Most of what I remember are the moments when teachers made it clear that I would never succeed in their subject...often publicly.

CGC is about Becoming Human. It's our 'official' Mission. When we see a learning problem, we build solutions. We use Human-Centered Design, so we start with empathy.For example, empathy for countless students who are bombarded with information and never taught how to process it. The information never becomes transferable conceptual understanding translated into practical competencies, supported by strong moral character...our '3 Cs' of learning. Bombarded by, for them, irrelevant blah and we wonder why they are increasingly 'disengaged'.

Years ago, The International Schools’ Curriculum Project gifted our learning model to the IB, as the IBPYP. At the IB’s request, I remained connected for a few years. I felt that we needed a culminating ‘event’. The DP has the exams,the MYP the Personal Project. For the PYP, I designed a model which would be collaborative, interdisciplinary, celebratory, providing a chance to show what, and how, we’ve learned together: the PYP Exhibition.

I'm very privileged to work with some great schools in very long partnerships, so I get the benefit of seeing learning evolution in action. I've worked with Avenor College in Bucharest for close to a decade. One of my collaborators throughout has been Marilena Nicolae. In January I had the great privilege of seeing Mari in action with 3 Alfa, a group of students with whom she has worked for a couple of years...'looping' is a successful strategy at Avenor.

This is the first of a series of posts that address an authentic theme I'm hearing a lot. It can be summarized as a litany of observations about 'today's kids and parents'. In summary: 'lack of engagement, short attention span, screen addiction, unwillingness to engage in the productive struggle, teacher blaming'. Sound familiar?