stephen covey – Connected Principals

The Trust Default

In a recent workshop, I was asked: “Do you think that kids should just be able to bring phones to the classroom whenever they want?” At the end of the answer, I always share that ultimately, the decision should be with the teacher as they know their community the best, but here are some things … [Read more…]

Leading With Empathy

This story from “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” is one that has always stuck with me and reminds me of the importance of understanding someone else’s perspective and experience: Then suddenly, a man and his children entered the subway car. The children were so loud and rambunctious that instantly the whole climate changed. … [Read more…]

3 Important Factors in Asking Better Questions

It seems like every day I’m blessed to work with teachers and administrators who are doing incredible things with and for students and are providing opportunities that I could not dream of when I went to school. The rate of change in classrooms has been incredible, and the shift to delivering both engaging and empowering … [Read more…]

By George

5 Crucial Quotes on Leadership and Why They are Important

I am very passionate about leadership in education because a great leader saved my career. She showed me the importance of tapping into someone’s strengths and bringing out more in someone that they believed they could bring out in themselves. I am forever grateful for her guidance and think about her leadership often and hope … [Read more…]

By George

The Push and Pull of Leadership

Ugh…I love this quote so much from “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People“: Look at the weaknesses of others with compassion, not accusation. It’s not what they’re not doing or should be doing that’s the issue. The issue is your own chosen response to the situation and what you should be doing. If you … [Read more…]

By George

Focusing on 3 Layers of Education

The saying, “The customer is always right,” has been around forever and one that I have known since I was a kid. Switch this to the context of education, and many schools are focusing on the question of “What is best for the learner?”, which is a “learner-centered” approach to education. What is essential to … [Read more…]

By George

Revisiting #ClassroomLeadership

In 2011, I wrote about the idea of moving from “classroom management” to “classroom leadership.” Here is a snippet from that post: For as long as I have been in education, the term “classroom management” is something that has been in every evaluation form I have seen as well as a major topic of discussion. In every … [Read more…]

By George

A Cadence of Accountability to One Another

I read this great post on assessment from Bill Ferriter, “How Would YOU Answer these Questions on Grading?“, where he asks these questions: Do your students care more about their grades than the learning those grades are supposed to represent? Are the grades given in your building an accurate representation of what students know? Are … [Read more…]

By George

5 Great Non-Education Books That Might Change Your Thinking on Teaching and Learning

I love Twitter. If you are looking for some good books to read over the summer break, take a look at this thread: What is a book that had a significant impact on your views and practices on education, but is NOT an education book? — George Couros (@gcouros) May 15, 2017 Lots of interesting … [Read more…]

By George

Even If You Are “Big”, Act Small

Having a conversation with an administrator, I was asked the question, “Do you really believe that you can make this change happen with such a large district?” My first thought was that this district wasn’t that large, yet it was relatively big for the area. 30,000 students might seem like a “large district” in some places, but … [Read more…]

By George

Even If You Are “Big”, Act Small

By George

We Need Leaders AND Managers

The narrative of “are you a manager or a leader?”, is one that is shared too often. I tweeted this article yesterday that talked about this very thing: What do you think? – 9 Differences Between Being A Leader And A Manager https://t.co/b22BOQEllj — George Couros (@gcouros) November 15, 2016 Here are some of the … [Read more…]

Systems Thinking

A few weeks ago, Apple, one of the most successful companies around today saw their leader step down, presumably for health problems. Immediately, consumers were worried and stock dropped with…

The Power of Believing

Treat a man as he is and you make him worse than he is. Treat a man as he has the potential to become and you make him better than…

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