by andrew@learnedleadership.org | Oct 21, 2012 | Blog
The other day as I was looking at the website of an international school, I noticed an interesting statistic listed on its school profile–100% of its teachers are certified. Now that may not seem very interesting since it’s expected or assumed that anyone who wants to be taken seriously in the teaching profession will get a teaching license. After all, don’t we expect the same from many other professions in the world. However, the longer I’ve been in education the less convinced I am that having a license is good indicator of the strength of a teacher. In fact I think it can be argued that a license is only a minimum indication of a teacher’s ability. For example, I know an amazing teacher who for a few years taught MS and HS ESL (including math and science), before being moved to the lower school to teach mainstream grade 4 and 5. She originally went to school for business, but has spent the majority of her career in a classroom. Even though she has no teaching license, she is an excellent teacher (much better than I ever was). She’s become so good because of a combination of mentorship, professional development, and an amazing desire to improve. She’s talked about working towards a license, but has concluded that the time and resources (tuition) required could be better spent on other things. Again, this is not say that a license isn’t valuable, but maybe instead of tying it so closely to university classes, it could alternatively be tied to experience? The military has figured this out giving battlefield commissions to solders...
by andrew@learnedleadership.org | Oct 8, 2012 | The Leadership Project
At the end of each of my interviews, I always make sure to ask the question “What advice do you have for the next generation of international administrators?” The answers have varied from cliché, to practical, to deeply philosophical, but all have served the purpose of providing a small window into a career filled with hard-earned wisdom. However, few have gone as far as Elsa Lamb, Director of the Association for the Advancement of International Education (AAIE), to preserve practical and functional lessons for leaders in international education. With Ms. Lamb’s leadership AAIE has created the online Institute for International School Leadership to help provide practical lessons and support for international school heads and leaders. With help from other experienced leaders in international education, including fellow Leadership Project interviewees Harlan Lyso, Monica Greeley, and Sherry Miller, the AAIE institute will be one of the few formal places leaders can get relevant teaching, advice and mentoring for leadership in international schools. (If not specifically quoted, Ms. Lamb’s answers to these questions have been paraphrased) After working overseas for a number of years and in three different countries, does it feel odd to be back in the states? It really depends on the situation. There are some things about living in the states that can be great and certainly things are more convenient “[because] whatever you need, you can find it somewhere…[However], it was harder to come back than it was to go overseas…because when you’re in a school you’re [also] in a community. I came back to the USA never having lived in Florida…so there was no community. The other...
by andrew@learnedleadership.org | Oct 2, 2012 | Leadership News
Earlier this summer I announced the exciting news that Learn[ed]Leadership had been granted the opportunity to host a workshop at the EARCOS Leadership Conference this November in Kuala Lumpur. I’m pleased to update those of you who plan to attend, that in addition to Tim Carr from Jakarta International School and Jim Koerschen from Concordia International School Shanghai, Steve Dare from Hong Kong Academy and Bambi Betts from AISH and the Principal Training Center have also agreed to sit on our leadership panel. As of now the Leadership Symposium workshop will be hosted on Saturday, November 3 at 3:30 in conference room Kedah. Please join us to learn more from these experienced leaders in international education including their challenges, triumphs and other observations, as well as take questions from the audience. More details about the Leadership Symposium can be found here. I look forward to seeing you at the workshop next...
by andrew@learnedleadership.org | Sep 23, 2012 | The Leadership Project
We all say we want to become a better leader, but what steps have you taken to see whether you’ve improved. Sure, you’ve read books, gone to conferences, and maybe even have a leadership degree, but have you ever asked others? Hopefully we are all open to some feedback, but how much? If you’re James MacDonald, Head of School at Yokohama International School, you want as much feedback as you can get. So much so, that he created an anonymous committee whose job it was to meet and discuss his strengths and weaknesses as a leader. I’d like to think that we’re all that open to the opinion of others, but to my knowledge I’ve never met another head of school to do the same. However, it’s not just a desire to develop as a leader that led Mr. MacDonald to create such a committee. More important than increasing his effectiveness as a leader, it’s an example of the style of learning and growth that he believes YIS should be known for. Simply put “you can’t have a culture of leadership different then the culture you’re trying to create in the classroom.” Perhaps it’s this openness that has allowed YIS achieve great results while also creating a spirit of openness and risk taking. (If not specifically quoted, Mr. MacDonald’s responses to these questions have been paraphrased) You moved from the deputy head to head of school in 2010, what were the advantages of moving into the headship internally? “Being internal [has been] fantastic in many respects because I [already] knew the people…[which is crucial because] a lot of the...
by andrew@learnedleadership.org | Sep 16, 2012 | Leadership News
In case you’re not familiar with Caine’s Arcade I’ll give you a little background. A couple months ago a film maker in LA stopped by a used car parts store to pick something up. When he arrived he discovered the owner’s son Caine had commandeered the front of the shop and transformed it into and arcade full of simple cardboard games (you know the ones you used to make when you were a kid). Inspired by Caine’s ingenuity and entrepreneurship the film maker coordinated with friends, Caine’s dad, and social media to mob Caine’s Arcade with customers…and of course as a film maker he made a film (click here to view) from it that went viral and has been seen all over the world. Since then, the Caine’s Arcade group has come up with a follow up film and used the money and inspiration raised by the first film to create the Imagination Foundation, a organization designed to spur entrepreneurship and innovation in kids. You’re better off watching the video then listening to me explain it. Watching the new film got me thinking about whether we doing enough to push kids to innovate? I’d like to think yes, but it might be more helpful and truthful if we try to identify the truly innovative things we’ve seen our students do. Can you do that? Hopefully? Although I’m sure there is some innovative stuff going on at our schools (just off the top of my head I can think of IS Bangkok’s Invention Center), I fear that many of our students are simply on their predestined path to university and...
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