Parents ‘n Schools

The irony is not lost on me, but seems lost on many, that in a 90%+ labour-cost industry like government schooling, so much of what falls in the other 10%- is viewed as “expensive”. By definition, shouldn’t anything in there be “inexpensive”… relatively speaking?
One such thing is standardized exams. In Alberta, called “Provincial Achievement Tests” […]

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(GLO — June 2010 — From about a year ago… and the messaging continues… on energy… on environment… on what have you. Schooling is a broadcast mechanism. Outward from government and government schoolers to parents and families and the community. But it is largely one-way messaging. The megaphone blasts out the messages… but it doesn’t […]

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Seth Godin’s new book “Linchpin” is an excellent look at the workplace and the kind of skills and attributes that are key to success in the modern workplace. Early in the book, Mr. Godin is critical of the way kids are schooled (in factory fashion, for factory outcomes, for factory-dominated-times).
School does a great job of […]

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(GLO — June 2010 — From two years ago… rings true to the ear still… Is there an App for that?… increasingly there is… increasingly there will be… The common refrain among schooler collectives is that you can’t beat having a teacher there (the professional self-interest in such refrains notwithstanding)… And up to a certain […]

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Want to thank my growing audience on the occasion of passing the 500 Post mark recently here at good ol’ PnS. I expect most of you are of the “dropped on your head (repeatedly) by public education” demographic, with your deep wounds, deep frustrations and deep troubles.
As long as you’re keeping a sense of humour […]

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Enjoyed the privilege of attending the Art of Marketing conference last week in Calgary, and the privilege of listening to and briefly meeting afterward Sir Ken Robinson (watch his entertaining and engaging talks here on TED.com). Sir Ken is a champion of educating to preserve creativity, not to diminish it. His latest book “The Element” […]

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Recently drove up to a self-serve gas station. Made me think if we had government gas stations the way we have government schools, there would be no self-serve pumps (would there be lineups?… would the gas be available?… would there be premium?)
If we had government banks the way we have government schools, there would be […]

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(GLO — June 2010 — Michael Lewis wrote “The Blind Side”, which was a successful movie this past winter, and something of an indictment about injustices within U.S. government schooling. Before he wrote “The Blind Side”, he wrote “Moneyball”… which was about baseball and economics and statistics and analytics… but when I read it I […]

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Run, do not walk, to Calgary Reads (www.calgaryreads.com).
This volunteer, charitable organization operating its programs for the better part of 15 years in Calgary elementary schools is Exhibit A… Number One… Hands Down… the best example of how professional development and training for parents can make a difference in government schooling. It is absolutely the best […]

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(GLO — June 2010 — From an early essay, about two years ago. Schoolers in government schools do not have contractual or statutory duties of “good faith” or fiduciary duties generally as among the adults at work or in contact with government schools. They have duties vis a vis the children and conducting themselves toward […]

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