I’m a technology user and fan. I was a school district technology director for twenty-six years, but at the same time, I witnessed a growing trend to look to classroom technology as a substitute for good teaching and learning. My ed tech journey began in 1981 when the first Apple II’s arrived in our school … Read more
Rage by Bob Woodward My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is a page turner. Woodward does a great job of reporting on the Trump presidency with extensive interviews with the principals in the story. It’s one of the best books I’ve read this year. The quote from the last page of the Epilogues sums … Read more
Pelosi by Molly Ball My rating: 4 of 5 stars Interesting book and one I’m glad I read. It gave me insights about Nancy Pelosi that I would never have known. She’s an incredible person. You have to admire her verve even if you don’t agree with her politics. Lots of insights and information about … Read more
There are thousands of courageous people on the front lines of this coronavirus pandemic. The epicenter in the United States is currently New York City. I live a long way from there but I have many friends who live there. I was born in Manhattan many years ago. My Mom was born there too. She … Read more
Friday I volunteered at Boston Valley Elementary School in the First Grade classroom of Dara Watkins. It was my first classroom experience since retiring in August. I read the students “Harold and the Purple Crayon,” which was one of the first books I read and remains one of my favorites. Upon arriving at Boston Valley … Read more
It’s been 20 years since my first NYSCATE Conference. The changes in that time have been remarkable. I’ve attended a number of sessions and most have been very interesting. Although I’ve seen no presentations on open source per se but I have seen a number of presentations where the applications are on the web and … Read more
I’ve been reading “The Leader in Me,” by Steven Covey today as I sit in a boat rocking gently on the shores of Lake Murray in steamy South Carolina. It’s been quite a year and just prior to the ISTE Conference I went on retreat. Retreats are restorative. Prior to the retreat I had been … Read more
I took some time to read a post from year or more ago and in it I referenced a beginners mind. That is such an important concept and one that I need to remember often. It’s really timeless wisdom and often completely unappreciated and under utilized in most books about leadership. I’ve been reading a … Read more
A real leader is always at the scene of the battle. Contrast Barack Obama’s tour of Afghanistan, Kuwait and Iraq with the leadership style of our current president. Senator McCain’s camp actually leaked the details of the trip, but Obama, a real leader went anyway and visited U.S. troops. That’s a paradigm change from our … Read more
