by andrew@learnedleadership.org | May 27, 2012 | The Leadership Project
If you pay any attention to the status of international education in Southeast Asia, you know of the tremendous growth that has taken place. Despite this growth, areas like Hong Kong continue to see demand outpace supply. Some schools see this as an opportunity to expand. Hong Kong Academy, currently located on Hong Kong Island, is not that kind of school. It’s true that HKA will increase its enrollment from 470 to 600 students when they move to their new location in Sai Kung in 2013, but this is by no means a mega-school; and that’s exactly the point. I had the pleasure of speaking with HKA Head of School Steve Dare, and what struck me most in our conversation is how he has helped shape a clear mission and vision that drives the school. At the core of this vision is a focus on building an intentionally diverse community, which from what I could tell aligns well with Mr. Dare’s values as a leader. Describe your leadership style? “It’s hard to say one has a style, [instead] I try to be aware of what my strengths are and the challenges I have…[I believe] I have the capacity to bring people into the leadership conversation.” I realize building a school isn’t just about my ideas as a leader, but it’s a conversation between stakeholders. “[One of my greatest roles] is as an ambassador for the school and because I have a clear vision and sense of direction for the school, I want to bring as many people in as I can who share that vision.” In this process...
by andrew@learnedleadership.org | May 19, 2012 | The Leadership Project, TLP EARCOS
It says something interesting about Tim Carr’s personality that he describes his arrival at Jakarta International School as a homecoming. What’s interesting is Mr. Carr has never lived in Jakarta, Indonesia, or SE Asia before accepting the role of Head of School at JIS. The homecoming that he’s referring to is less tangible, but more of spirit and connection with the developing world that was lacking at his last position at ASIJ in Tokyo. It’s clear that the energy and vibrancy of Indonesian culture has connected with Mr. Carr as he sets out on his journey, which has already included the creation of a new and exciting school wide vision that connects to this spirit. (If not specifically quoted, Mr. Carr’s responses to these questions have been paraphrased) You’re relatively young for your position, what convinced you to go into leadership at a young age? My father was in education so I think some of my interests in schools and students come from there. “I was often drawn towards how schools worked, and I’ve always been fascinated with schools as an organism.” Early in our careers, my wife and I decided to take the step into international teaching, and “I decided at a relatively young age to walk through doors [to leadership] that were opened, even if I wasn’t qualified to do it.” In fact a lot of my opportunities have come from people who trusted me to do things I didn’t know how to do, but was willing to try. What or who has been most fundamental in your development? “Learning…that’s the main thing…I can’t imagine conjuring a...
by andrew@learnedleadership.org | May 18, 2012 | Blog, Video
A few weeks back I wrote a blog about my frustration as a 12th grade IB teacher. Like many of my fellow 12th grade teachers can attest to, student effectiveness drops of a cliff in second semester. So when my students suddenly came to class excited and inspired by the Kony 2012 campaign (a global movement to arrest the Ugandan warlord and war criminal Joseph Kony), we were all disappointed when after a quick discussion we had to return to the IB curriculum. Now, by no means am suggesting that the IB curriculum is inadequate or too restrictive, but I think as educators we should challenge ourselves to continually look for ways to harness our students’ enthusiasm to increase learning. The other day a colleague of mine, who I had discussed this idea with, passed along this Tedx talk by Zoe Weil. In it she discusses the idea of teaching our students in a way that gets them to not only learn about and identify problems, but create solutions. She goes on to introduce the idea of Solutionary Teams, groups of students who compete with each other to create solutions to identified problems. Take a look: Now whether you agree or disagree with her views on Humane Education, I think the idea of empowering students to choose their own focus/curriculum in a class is very powerful. Obviously it’s easier said then done, but definitely worth pondering and worth an experiment. As a social studies teacher I see many practical applications and horizontal collaboration opportunities, but see some big school wide opportunities too. For example, many school organizations (NHS, CAS, StuCo) vie...
by andrew@learnedleadership.org | May 6, 2012 | The Leadership Project
In international education, like any industry, it doesn’t take long to build a reputation amongst your colleagues and peers. This is no different for Mark Ulfers, Head of the American School of Paris, who has been described by others as knowledgeable, dependable and a change-maker. Mr. Ulfers’ storied career stretches around the globe including headships in Frankfurt, Taiwan, Cyprus as well as leadership positions in Singapore and the USA. Last week, I had the opportunity to speak with him and what struck me the most in our conversation was his commitment to making others around him better. This is a valuable skill to have in Western Europe, where he explained the challenge of labor laws has encouraged him to develop talent within and across the school. (If not specifically quoted, Mr. Ulfers’ responses to these questions have been paraphrased) You became a Principal at 27, what made you decide to step into school leadership? “I think it was a sense that you could bring a little more rationality than what you had been witnessing…[although] I’m not sure I’ve been able to do that.” You’ve worked in schools all over the world, how is working in Europe different from your experiences in Asia? “[Actually] I find more commonalities at our schools than differences. Clearly culture has a tremendous influence…[but] the needs of young people seem to be so much the same [anywhere in the world]…their desires, needs, aspirations…” I suppose the biggest difference is that labor laws are refined to a science in Western Europe compared to Asia…”I hear people whine, moan and complain about the labor laws in Europe, but...
by andrew@learnedleadership.org | May 4, 2012 | Blog, Teacher's Corner
Over the last few weeks of interviews with school leaders, I’ve heard the common theme that being able to communicate effectively with others is a priceless skill for leaders. This isn’t shocking news to any of us, yet sometimes it can be very easy to shutdown the lines of communication with our coworkers when things don’t go the way we planned. Recently a school head in Hong Kong reminded me of this by saying “we can never forget that we’re working with human beings”, and I would add; the good and the bad. Keeping this simple truth in mind as we operate in our schools may hopefully bring a higher level of civility in the midst of discussion. Simply knowing this is great, however, what’s transformational is setting a framework of expectations with each other when collaborating, negotiating or building consensus. A friend of mine at the International School of Kuala Lumpur forwarded me their Seven Norms of Collaborative Work, which I believe is powerful tool for building a share vision for our schools. The Seven Norms of Collaborative Work Pausing: Pausing actually slows down the “to and fro” of discussion. There are fewer ‘frames per second’ to deal with. It provides for the precious “wait time” which has been shown in classrooms to dramatically improve student critical thinking. Pausing and the acceptance of moments of silence creates a relaxed and yet purposeful atmosphere. Silence, however initially uncomfortable, can be an excellent indicator of productive collaboration. Pausing also signals to others that their ideas and comments are worth thinking about. It dignifies their contribution and implicitly encourages future participation....
![Learn[ed]Leadership Pages](http://redesign.learnedleadership.org/divi/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Logo3.jpg){kind=logo}
Recent Comments