I had the opportunity earlier this year to talk with Patrick Walsh for the NewTech High podcast. Patrick and I have known each other since I was at the University of Minnesota, and he continues to make great things happen in my former state. In this podcast episode, Patrick and I talked about the basics of deeper learning, how to connect Rogers’ diffusion of innovation theory to that work, and ‘push-pull’ and ‘loose-tight’ leadership. We also spent a few minutes talking about the impacts of AI on all of this…
We spent most of our time discussing how to make learning more meaningful for students, and how we support principals to do that work. We also closed with a recognition of the equity concerns that accompany deeper learning in schools. Unfortunately, we were in the conference center hallway, which means that the beginning of the podcast is pretty noisy during passing time between workshops. The background noise gets quieter at around the 8-minute mark.
For the past year I served as a Distinguished Educator Fellow for PDK International. The biggest highlight of that experience was getting to serve as an informal mentor for Owen Elsasser, a young educator from Nebraska. Mentor is the wrong word, though, because Owen is such a dynamo that I mostly have just been a cheerleader on the sideline, watching him do all of his awesomeness…
Owen is both a delightful human being and an unstoppable force of nature. I was introduced to Owen through PDK after he had just graduated high school. Owen already was a national officer for Educators Rising, PDK’s program to help high schools create and nurture ‘grow your own’ teacher pathways, and he has continued to be involved nationally with PDK ever since. Additionally, Owen has been connecting with college-, national-, and state-level leaders and organizations around teacher preparation. He is presenting at conferences, creating new resources, and talking with whomever he can about educators, preservice preparation, and advocacy for the teaching profession. Owen is incredibly well-connected given that he is only a college sophomore, and you can find him on LinkedIn, Twitter/X, and Instagram, among others. I can’t wait to see what he does over the rest of his college career and as a classroom teacher!Â
This year Owen and I had a chance to record an episode for the PDK podcast. We discussed an issue that is near the very top of Owen’s list of interests: How do we get more men into P-12 teaching roles, particularly at the elementary and middle level?
The film is nicely done. The first half focuses more on the importance that math plays in all sectors of our lives. The second half focuses more on math education. High Tech High makes an appearance at the 53-minute mark. Interwoven throughout the documentary are themes related to democracy, criminal justice, workforce readiness, journalism, and social justice, to name a few. The movie is 90 minutes long. Be sure to wait for the two mid-credits scenes at the end!
This blog celebrated its 20th birthday a few days ago… Here was my first post ever! Although I am not blogging as often – or in the same way – as I used to, it still continues to be one of my happy places.
Some quick numbers to commemorate the occasion:
2,636 total posts,
13,885 total comments,
at least 5 million page views, and
a whole lot of public thinking, friendly pushback, and robust conversation.
There were times when this blog was one of the top 10 education blogs in the world. That was fun! My public presence here has created innumerable opportunities that I would not have had otherwise, and I have become connected with so many smart, amazing people along the way. I am incredibly grateful.
Thank you to everyone who has traveled this journey with me. Looking forward to another couple of decades here at Dangerously Irrelevant!
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