In the field of biomimicry, we borrow and learn from principles in nature to create systems and structures that are healthy, balanced, resilient, and sustainable. In this way, we could see a school community as a living system, rather than a machine made up of parts. Perhaps this organism is like an aspen forest, with […]

So often in our school communities, we think of making change by engaging a particular “approach” or program. And, in the field of “school reform”—we have often insisted on one approach or lens as being primary or most essential. This debate has often happened with SEL and Equity work—where, rather than seeing these frameworks as […]

Happy New Year! We hope this next calendar year brings much joy and fruition to you all. We will continue our series on the four strands of our approach: SEL, Cultural Responsiveness, Mindfulness and Whole Systems Thinking in February.  This month, we are republishing our “Welcoming the Unwelcome” article from December– in hopes it can […]

Holiday stress. Climate change. Local and national political issues. At times we may survey the state of our schools and the world and wonder — how are we supposed to teach in the midst of all of this? Life is messy. The world is messy. And at times in our schools (especially during the holidays), […]

In this edition of Teaching Tips we explore another strand of our work – mindfulness. We define mindfulness as the natural human capacity to pay attention to our experience as it is happening in real time. Unfortunately, our current way of life typically overrides this innate capacity— and we too often unwittingly train ourselves in […]

What a time on our planet and in our nation—climate crisis, supreme court justice hearings, #me too dialogues, and the mid-term election around the corner. With so much stress, tension, and challenge on a collective level—it is even more essential to take care with ourselves and to intentionally support and engage our students. To support […]

Note on our Monthly Tips Series: Since the beginning of 2018, we have offered a series of monthly tips based on the 5 dimensions of engaged teaching (as explored in our book).  So far, we have explored the dimensions of Open Heart, Being Present, and the Self Observer. This month, we explore Respectful Boundaries.  Respectful […]

Recently, I was helping to facilitate a workshop on Culturally Responsive Leadership. One of our first activities with the group was an interactive process to develop a common understanding of the words we use to describe inequity such as prejudice, discrimination, privilege, and racism. We posted definitions of these and other terms on the wall […]

This is Part 3 of a six-part series on the Five Dimensions of Engaged Teaching. Part 1 –  A “Compass” for Our Times Part 2 – Cultivating an Open Heart Being Present Since we last wrote, another school shooting has turned the world of educators upside down. This tragedy, which irrevocably changed the lives of everyone in […]