🎶 Tonight I’m gonna email like it’s 1999 🎶
This is an edited version of my latest School of Thought Column in Australian Teacher Magazine. I started teaching in 1999, when within the school, communication was via the morning staff briefing and through memos or the like posted in my pigeonhole, that I might – or more likely might not – get to every […]
Read MoreKids Giving Back 5th Birthday
Some of you might be aware that every year I’m very proud to partner with my friends at Kids Giving Back to work with teenagers who access Youth Off The Streets. Well today, Kids Giving Back hosted its 5th Birthday party at Rough Edges, a homeless community partner in Darlinghurst, Sydney, and I was honoured […]
Read More**THIS** might just be the biggest challenge facing your school…
Of all the challenges facing Australian schools in the 21st Century, including funding, falling behind Asia, and preparing kids for jobs that don’t yet exist, there is one challenge that is not being afforded the attention it deserves, and in light of the shifting political landscape it might just be the biggest challenge facing schools […]
Read MoreCould having goals contribute to depression?
We’re told that having goals is important. At school we teach kids the importance of them whilst there wouldn’t be a boardroom in the country that hasn’t hosted a goal-setting workshop. But what if your goals were making you depressed? Read on… Last week I ran 10km. It took me just over an hour. Whilst […]
Read MoreWhat kids *really* want from us when they ask for help…
Last week I had the pleasure of hearing Professor Donna Cross present on wide range of issues pertaining to wellbeing, and in particular student wellbeing. Professor Cross presented some interesting perspectives from her work with children and adolescents. One perspective that I found particularly compelling – given the media attention around bullying in schools in […]
Read MoreDeveloping a Minecraft Mindset
What’s in this post: How I used Minecraft to discuss Mindset with kids for whom mainstream education doesn’t work Access to the materials I created in order for you to do similar if you wish Of late I’ve found myself working with kids from some fairly tough backgrounds. Whether it’s kids who are wards of the […]
Read More3 things you (probably) didn’t know about Finland
Every couple of years, the OECD publish a report from their Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Their findings are (very helpfully) compiled into league tables, charting the performance of each of the participating countries in maths, literacy and application of scientific knowledge. These tables are then used to fuel media stories like this one, which […]
Read MoreWrapping Kids in Cotton Wool
Yesterday I was interviewed by the panel on Channel 10’s The Project with regard to ‘Cotton Wool’ kids… It stemmed from a story in Melbourne where a father was suing a school because his son ran into a wall whilst playing tips. The father’s argument was – the school should ban running in the playground. Hmm… […]
Read More5 Key Takeaways about Student Wellbeing
A couple of weeks ago the Centre for Education Statistics & Evaluation released their literature review into Student Wellbeing. You can access the entire document here. It clearly and concisely lays out all the considerations important for addressing student wellbeing in your school. It also offers dozens of research papers to explore by way of referencing. Having said that, if […]
Read More#tellsomeonetheyrock
Last week I saw a tweet in my timeline from a teacher who was moving schools. Been overwhelmed by many lovely comments and feedback over past cpl of days. I wonder why it is only at the end that we tend to give this. — Steve Box (@wholeboxndice) December 5, 2014 A little earlier in […]
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