A couple of weeks ago I met with a former student of mine, Genna Radnan, who at only 20 years of age is doing incredible work in Kenya. She has an interesting story as Genna says, “I was never an academic and only had passes for my work, regardless of how much effort I put […]
Today I had the privilege of giving a key-note talk at the Positive Schools Conference in Fremantle. This was a great opportunity for me to engage with some of the leading minds in Australia in the field of mental health, wellbeing and education. I gave a talk based on my Drowning not Learning blog post from last […]
Last month the Sydney Morning Herald carried an article that suggested that perhaps students chose university courses based on the prestige associated with such courses, rather than what was most appropriate for the individual. Personally I don’t think this is so surprising… do you? After all, since Year 1 they have been categorised as either […]
So five weeks come to an end. It’s been a remarkable time in the UK, USA and Canada. Just this week I’ve had the opportunity to work with Tayyab Rashid in Toronto, and he is doing some very cool stuff with Signature Strengths in education. He works in a wide range of schools from the affluent […]
“Would you mind if I included some of your work in my new book?” “I beg your pardon?” I replied. Again came the question… “Would you mind if I included some of your work in my new book? We’re taking it on a forty city tour of the States in March next year…” Dr John […]
It has been a wet, cold but brilliant first week of my tour. I started off in Scunthorpe, one of the most socially deprived areas in the UK. I went to visit two primary schools, Henderson Avenue and Frodingham Infants to see first hand Jenny Fox Eades’ Celebrating Strengths program in action. Having a fairly good […]
Recently I posted an entry relating to the Labour Government’s Education Revolution and the responsibility that falls on the shoulders of those writing the new National Curriculum. Today’s decision by the Independents to side with Labour means that the Revolution will continue for another 3 years at least… The Macquarie Australian Encyclopaedic Dictionary defines a Revolution […]
In his book Happier, Tal Ben-Shahar PhD describes one model of motivation that influences the approach a student may take to their learning. He calls it the “Drowning Model”. “The drowning model shows two things; that the desire to free ourselves from pain can be a strong motivator and that, once freed, we can easily […]
“What’s the new kid in Year 9 like?” I asked Mr Jones* the Maths teacher. “He’s terrible at maths, he’s definitely not too bright,” Jonesy assured me. Whilst this is purely anecdotal and certainly not a universal approach to describing students, it is fairly common in my experience. I have asked what the child is like, and I’ve been told what the […]
