School of Thought

My kids have always made things. As far back as I can remember, as soon as they could hold scissors, fold paper, press clay, every holiday brought something handmade. Maybe it arose because of all of the art supplies in our house, or their interest in making things with paper - both are true. But no one taught them to do this, it just arose, the way the best rituals do. And now, that is what happens. Now those gifts are scattered around our house like little time capsules. Clay flowers.

Click the above ♥️ if you are weird. Before we start, a quick check. Answer honestly (just to yourself, no grades!): Do you tend to speak for yourself, not for others? Do you think analytically, breaking things into parts? Do you believe in free will? Do you take personal responsibility for your actions? If you answered yes to most of those, you likely fit the WEIRD profile. And so, probably, does your picture of what good teaching and learning looks like.

“Two things stand out to me from these sessions. The first is that they don’t just talk about connection—they actually create it. There’s something about being in a space where you’re expected to think with other people, not just listen, that shifts how you show up. I find myself taking more risks, sharing ideas earlier, and actually learning in the moment. The second is that everything is small enough to try right away.

“The question is not what you look at, but what you see.” Henry David Thoreau Ernest Shackleton showed up in story as an illustration of what People-Based Learning can look like when you design a team around it. His is a dramatic story of survival in the coldest place on earth, Antarctica. But the reason it had such a pull was because it’s clear that Shackleton understood something about the deep value of human differences that we’re still struggling to fully act on today.

We don’t just measure learning, we decide what counts by what we choose to measure. Virginia Apgar was an anesthesiologist who got tired of watching newborns die because no one could agree on whether they were in trouble. So in 1952, she invented a number. Ten points, five indicators: heart rate, breathing, muscle tone, reflexes, color. Assessed at one minute after birth, then five. A score of seven or above meant the baby was likely fine; below four meant act now.

“Hold your light of compassion and joy; do not sink into the vibration of the oppressors — control, egoic anger, fear.” adrienne maree brown She said two words. “I’m okay.” And I felt tears coming on. That was the moment I knew something unusual was happening.

Click the ❤️ if this sparks something in you. A few evenings ago, I found myself tuning in to a Substack Live conversation that featured Priya Parker, Anand Giridharadas, and Jodi Kantor talking about Jodi’s new book, How to Start. (There is a link below to the recording. It was fabulous.) How gorgeous is this cover? The Live had the feeling of being inside a living room, not a virtual stage. Priya and Anand were in the familiar backdrop of their home offices.

We don’t have a shortage of opportunities for learning, we have a shortage of learning that changes anything. Most workshops are lectures in disguise. You walk in to chairs in rows, one person in the front, slides doing most of the talking. Twenty people trying to look engaged while quietly wondering how much longer this will last. And then we go back to our lives largely the same. This is strange, if you think about it.

This is a bit of unusual post, but wanted to share. On Saturday night, I wore wobbly shoes to the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA). I found a painter who matched my mood. The Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA) are sharing a collection, A Nation of Artists, drawn from their own private collections, and from the coll…

Sometimes our strengths have a dark side, and our weaknesses a bright one. My older son had rarely seemed stressed as a child. He would say he didn’t feel stressed. He moved through life with a kind of cool, calm nonchalance that I couldn’t help but admire. He still does. As a child, he would shrug when I asked. “I’m fine.” Big project due? Fine. Speech for 200 people written the night before? Fine. Admissions interview? Fine. Meanwhile, I am… I am pro-chalance.