EdThought

EdThought >> Educational Leadership Philosophy

By George Couros

I wanted to think about my own “Educational Leadership Philosophy” and put it into words as I come into the new school year. As I write this down, I love the picture below that reminds me it is not only what we say, but what we do that matters.

Photo by Soliya

Education and school have traditionally been the hub of our communities. Not only for the wisdom and knowledge that they create for our present and future, but for the connections that they create amongst a community. Growing up in a small town, teachers were revered and respected for the work that they did with students, and they always made an effort to connect with parents to bring them in on the learning process of their child, not just with developing intelligence, but developing students as people. The notion of, “it takes a village”, is something that I believe in deeply, and believe that it is more important now than ever.

As a leader, I believe in bringing a community together to share leadership in many different avenues. In a quote from Tom Peters, he states that “leaders don’t create followers, they create more leaders.”8 In a school community, this starts at the top in working with others to develop their leadership in every position and level of school. By focusing on an individual’s strengths, you show that you value their expertise first, before you look to help them develop in other areas. This strength-based focus helps to build a relationship with each individual, pushing them to be better every day. When the leader of an organization has this belief and proves it through actions, it trickles down to students in the classroom. The more experience I have in leadership, the more I see that effective teachers are effective leaders, and have this same strength-based approach with their students. If we have a community that focus on building leadership in all areas, we are more likely to be successful within our vision.

continues to change, schools need to adapt to best serve our students for their future as well as their present. Those that are willing to adapt and learn from change now, will be the ones that are most likely to be successful in the future. As we see different jobs being created in our world, while other jobs are becoming irrelevant, we look to develop the next generation of entrepreneurs in schools. This is often created by instilling a sense of “intrapreneurial spirit” within educators that are always looking to develop and further the organization. While we look and build on what has worked in the past, we must also continuously look forward.

One of those changes in our world is a shift to an open and transparent environment. As an administrator, I have the opportunity to become better by continuously being able to visit classrooms and see what the most effective teachers do. Peers do not have this same opportunity because of our physical environment. Through the use of different technologies such as blogging and Twitter, we open up our classrooms to other educators not only in our own schools, but to schools around the world to bring them in on this collaboration. As I always focus on “what is best for kids”, it is crucial that we look to not only help our own students, but how we can help other students from around the globe as well. As we tell our students when they walk into our schools, we must ensure that we create a culture of sharing within our own community to learn from others around the world, as well as within our own community. The most innovative environments outside of school tap into the “wisdom of the room” and bring in different voices to continuously learn and grow; schools must do the same.

To be successful, people must have a purpose within our organization. This included parents who are a great untapped resource within our own communities. We can no longer have children going home and being asked the question, “what did you learn today?”, and responding with, “nothing.” By opening the doors to our classrooms through both physical and virtual environments, we have the opportunity to change the conversation at home. Parents are able to be actively involved in the process of learning, leading to a higher opportunity for success of each child. The more we can involve parents in this process at home, the more likely students will be successful in school, and beyond. This community support is imperative.

In summary, building relationships, developing leadership, and focusing on school as the “hub” of our community,we are more likely to create an environment where our students are building a bright future both today and tomorrow. By looking at what worked in the past while also looking to develop our future, our community is more likely to be able to come together to create the schools our kids need.

EdThought >> Building A Better Transcript: What Grades Measure, And What They Don’t By Tony Wagner, Expert in Residence at Harvard University’s Innovation Lab

This month, approximately 3.5 million high school seniors will be granted diplomas.

The rest of us will (and should) applaud their achievements, but we must also stop and consider: What did these students have to do to earn their diplomas, and what, exactly, has their schoolwork prepared them for?

In 1892, The Committee of Ten, led by Harvard President Charles Eliot, created a standardized framework for the high school curriculum that, in turn, dictated essential prerequisites for college admissions. This system requires that students earn between 18 and 24 “Carnegie Units” in order to graduate. A Carnegie Unit is a standardized measure of “seat time served” in a given class — roughly 120 hours of a class over the course of a year.

Students’ grades in a particular class are supposed to represent how well they served that time, and students’ grade point average and class rank are taken as measures of how well individuals have performed compared to peers. And these numbers still make up the typical high school transcript, which is required by virtually every college and university in America in order to be considered for admission.

But these measures are more than a century old, and hopelessly obsolete. In this era of innovation, all students need essential skills and dispositions for work, learning, and citizenship — habits of mind

and heart that cannot be measured by Carnegie Units.

Students who can take initiative, learn through trial and error, collaborate, persist, understand and solve problems through interdisciplinary approaches, and who have strong moral foundations are set up to thrive in the future. The students who are merely good at the “game of school” — those with high grades but without those skills — are not.

And if school is a game, then “losing” comes with stark emotional consequences. Too many students in our “best” suburban and independent schools increasingly experience high school as a cutthroat competition for admission to a selective college. Bright and resilient students who receive poor grades or don’t get into the “right” college often see themselves as losers for life.

There is a better way.

In March of this year, some of America’s leading independent schools announced the creation of the Mastery Transcript Consortium (MTC). It is an effort to create an entirely new way to assess and report the quality of student work — one that is based on real evidence of mastery, rather than a grade or time spent in a particular class.

The new reporting will indicate the skills and knowledge that students have mastered. But it will also include qualities of character that make their humanity visible and help admissions officers make better decisions when it comes to an applicant’s “fit.” The design will help colleges better understand students’ skill sets and potential to succeed on campus, and allows students to present themselves more authentically to admissions officers.

Since the March announcement, more than 100 schools have signed up to join in the discussion and development of the Mastery Transcript, including renowned schools such as Phillips Andover Academy and Punahou in Hawaii, President Obama’s alma mater. And the Edward E. Ford Foundation just gave the Consortium a $2 million grant to develop its technology platform. Once there is a proof of concept, the Mastery Transcript Consortium membership will be open to all public and private high schools at a cost commensurate with each institution’s resources.

How many of us studied a foreign language for four years in high school, but graduated unable to carry on an extended conversation in that language? How many of us did well enough in high school geometry and algebra, yet struggle to use math to solve real-world problems? In the 21st century, academic content knowledge still matters, but essential skills and dispositions matter more. The Mas

“Each Mastery Credit applied to a transcript signifies complete mastery of a specific skill, knowledge block or habit of mind as defined by the crediting high school,” says the Consortium’s founder, Scott Looney. Reading the electronic transcript “will allow college admission officers to dive deep within a transcript to see the specific standards of the sending high school and actual evidence of student work and mastery, thus giving depth and transparency to the student’s work record.”

There are many ways to acquire and demonstrate mastery. Some students may choose internships to gain mastery of a particular competency, take college courses or work in another country. The genius of the Mastery Transcript Consortium is that it will register and reward individual students’ achievements and choices while still providing a common framework for assessment.

After 124 years, it’s time to reimagine the high school curriculum for the 21st century and to encourage teaching and assessment of the skills and dispositions that matter most. Our students deserve a more accurate measure, and they shouldn’t have to wait another century for their transcripts to better reflect their accomplishments.

Reprinted with permission of the author Tony Wagner http://www.tonywagner.com/2030

Global Issues Network 2018

Welcome to CISSMUN IX & GINAsia 2018! Concordia International School Shanghai is pleased to announce that this coming January, the CISSMUN conference will be held concurrently with Concordia’s first annual High School Global Issues Network conference, GINAsia 2018. The theme of this year’s conference is A Place to Stand.

Website: www.cissmun.org | Contact Us: ginasia@concordiashanghai.org

Welcome to GINBALI 2018 This year’s GIN Middle School Conference will be held at Canggu Community School in Bali, Indonesia from the 2nd - 4th of March, 2018 with students from all over the EARCOS region. GINBali will provide students from around the world an opportunity to Seek Solutions to the several environmental and humanitarian issues in our world today. Theme: “Seeking Solutions: Meeting Global Challenges in a Changing World”

Website: https://sites.google.com/ccsbali.com/ginbali2018 Contact: msgin@ccsbali.com