Ever so slowly we are introducing more and more student voice into our decision making at Catholic Memorial. As I have experienced in so many other schools, I now see in my school how student voice is and is becoming the instrument of change. What
First quarter grades closed last Friday and grades were due today. I have written previously about the uneasy relationship between learning, time, and grades. It felt strange to me in effect to say, "Time’s up!" on learning. But I became more comfortable as the actual
At the Quaglia Institute, as we worked to shed light on the need for increased Student Voice, the issue of Teacher Voice and Teacher Aspirations inevitably would emerge. In some schools it would erupt! What we learned is that whatever a school’s mission or explicitly
A big part of our efforts at QISA last year was the research, discussion, and writing of (insert shameless plug :) Aspire High: Imagining Tomorrow’s School Today. Russ, Kris, Gavin, and I had numerous back and forth conversations about what a school that genuinely meets the
When Russ Quaglia first proposed the idea of a weekly blog exploring the journey from theory to practice, I had an initial hesitation. Not because I don’t enjoy writing. I actually love to write. And not because I didn’t think the idea had merit. Even
I made it clear to students the first day that I hoped and expected to learn as much from them as they might learn from me. I explained that I had come from a previous role as an advocate of student voice and student decision
I mentioned last week that I have been an educator for over 30 years. That included a first-year, fresh-out-of-college stint as a high school teacher—a role I find myself in again
Foreword: Dr. Michael (Mickey) Corso’s transition from the frying pan (Quaglia Institute) to the fire (high school teacher) was the inspiration for this blog series, “Walking the Talk: The School Voice Chronicles.” This is not at all surprising, as Mickey has been my inspiration for years.
Teaching begins with knowing your students. Who are these young people in front of you? What do they bring to the classroom from their previous experiences, their community, their families, and their cultures? What do they need from me to further their aspirations? However, as an
This report is rooted in a simple idea: In order for schools to be successful, they must listen to, learn from, and lead with the students and teachers who comprise the very life of the school itself. Whether schools choose to accept our view that