by George Goens | Jun 6, 2016 | All, Other
When it comes to education, we have deceived our children. Not intentionally, but because we care for them and want them to not feel pain of any sort or suffer any difficulty. So we soft-pedal the fact that getting an education is not always going to be fun – – that...
by George Goens | May 19, 2016 | Other
Remember the 3 R’s in school? Reading ‘riting, and ‘rithmertic. They live forever in the mythology of education and what school was supposed to be about. Today, there are still 3 R’s — but they’re not the same. The winds of reform have blown the historic 3...
by George Goens | Apr 19, 2016 | Other
“All human beings tend to have moral senses, which is the categorical imperative for them to act.” — Immanuel Kant A fog of reform is created obscuring issues and deflecting our focus from the real mission of schools. We need to emphasize ideals and principles...
by George Goens | Apr 23, 2015 | Other
“The real change takes place within our souls; the real change takes place when the unfolding of our souls reflects in some deep, mysterious way the unfolding of the universe. Then it is – when an individual person dares to live within his or her truth – that the...
by George Goens | Mar 25, 2015 | Other
Public education suffers from the tyranny of the tangible. The penchant to judge schools and teachers on the basis of test scores, graduation rates, suspension rates, or other metrics has run wild. Schools are perceived successful if they get the numbers. In the...
by George Goens | Mar 25, 2015 | Other
Public education suffers from the tyranny of the tangible. The penchant to judge schools and teachers on the basis of test scores, graduation rates, suspension rates, or other metrics has run wild. Schools are perceived successful if they get the numbers. In the...
by George Goens | Jan 27, 2015 | Other
Take a Bic lighter and a sprig of broccoli and you have the two keys to accountability for today’s schools. What would you do if your superintendent said that we are going to structure schools like broccoli and function like a Bic lighter? You would probably call the...
by George Goens | Dec 24, 2014 | Other
We live in an era where a scientific story is playing itself out nationally. Metrics, it seems, rule accelerated by our confidence in the glitz and speed of technology. We seem to have physics envy. Numbers, graphs, polls, procedures, and standards all emanate from...
by George Goens | Dec 4, 2014 | Other
“The plans you make are too small for you to live.” — David Whyte Planning is perceived as essential to a successful and happy life. Letting things unfold is a notion that is not widely accepted particularly in organizations. Leaders plan the next steps in...
by George Goens | Oct 30, 2014 | Accountability, Education, Leadership, Life, Other, Politics/Society, Relationships
Most leaders and organizations focus on the head and ignore the heart of leadership. Actually, successful leaders “know” in a variety of ways if they are fully aware. Certainly we learn cognitively. The skills of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation are important. But...
