Expanding Learning Frontiers

Despite many College Board debacles over the years, I’ll bet not one international school or US independent school offering Advanced Placement (AP) has ever considered dropping the program.

And how does your school’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ) commitment dovetail with the latest disaster surrounding AP African American Studies?

On the one hand, we need AP to give our kids the best chance for admission into those highly-rejective universities. Right? On the other, we need a school that’s inclusive. We need to question our values, biases, and privileges! Hmmm. read more

If you work in a private international school or independent school in USA or UK, you know these families. They exert undue influence on their children’s education by pressuring teachers and administration for placement in or out of a particular teacher’s classroom or course, resisting intervention conversations, sending excessive, aggressive emails (usually late at night), or exhibiting abusive behavior about grades. They’re well-known bullies and teachers dread being scheduled with their kids. read more

Like a dense, debilitating fog, the VUCA (Volatile, Complex, Uncertain, Ambiguous) world has enveloped every aspect of our lives. Humanity is facing a litany of challenging perils. The disruptions during the past two years alone have catapulted us into an intense, accelerated pace of history. It’s dizzying, frightening for adults. Amidst the chaos, I ask: What about our kids? Sadly, they have never known another world. The cacophony we have created is “normal” for them. We should be ashamed.  read more

I’ve been deep-diving into society’s status quo forces and its chokehold on change in the world, particularly in education. As a result, I’m hyper-vigilant about the status quo bias in the media, often hidden inside or added on to seemingly unrelated commentary.

Political commentator, radio/TV show host, and podcaster Michael Smerconish regards himself as an “independent media voice.” Having watched his CNN program, I would agree. However, in a podcast interview with economics professor, Scott Galloway, College Admissions = Hunger Games, Smerconish reveals his hidden bias toward Harvard University. read more

“If all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.”

After watching a 2021 Fareed Zakaria GPS CNN commentary on K-12 pandemic learning loss and what to do about it, I was spitting nails (keeping with the theme) and compelled to write a response to his misguided one-tool solution. Sadly, Zakaria does not once mention the emotional toll that the pandemic has wrought on students, parents, and educators. Disappointingly, he does not reference even one educational practitioner, researcher, or child psychologist. Instead, he highlighted data from a global management consulting company and a billionaire’s op-ed to illustrate his points. It was a heartless commentary. See it below. read more