I love the fall — it’s an exciting time of renewal — a new school year with shiny floors and everyone looking refreshed and energized. It is also a time when I hear lots of suggestions about what we should be teaching. Here are some of my all-time favourites:
changing a flat tire
surviving in the wild
negotiating a contract
filling out a federal tax form
growing vegetables
performing basic pet care
displaying manners such as holding a door
investing in stocks and bonds
sewing on a button
‘Basic pet care’ was new to me this year. Not sure what that means beyond feeding your dog, putting out some fresh water, going for walks, and taking them to the vet when they need it … but I digress. That’s not really the point.
I look forward to this time of year because of the events that celebrate our time together and personal milestones. I also become reflective on some of the other events that have made a difference. For my year-end post I’ve organized a short list of things that have made us better. Each of these has personally resonated with me as a significant step forward in our district. I hope that you enjoy them and that they might also resonate with you.
My 2023-24 list of noteworthy events:
Year #2 of our Strategic Plan
Revitalized School Plans
A Commitment to a Better Future
Stelly’s Indigenous Cultural Room
84 New Childcare Spaces
A Disruptive Technology
Year #2 of our Strategic Plan
We are concluding Year #2 of our five-year strategic plan and we’ve learned a lot. With a crisp focus on 4 key areas (Literacy, Indigenous Learner Success, Mental Health & Wellness, Global Citizenship) we continue to use the Plan to steer priorities, conversations and actions:
Meeting agendas, professional development opportunities, presentations to the Board, School Plans, Professional Growth Plans, budget priorities — they are all being shaped by Strategic Plan 2022-2027.
It is exciting to see alignment between so many facets within our district — areas such as Facilities (e.g. Stelly’s Cultural Room), our learning agenda (e.g. Literacy, Indigenous Learner Success, Mental Health & Wellness) as well as budget and staffing priorities — all laser focused on the goal of improving student success.
An innovation that significantly alters the way that consumers or systems like K-12 education operate. Disruptive technologies sweep away the processes they replace because they have attributes that are significantly superior.
We live in a world where changes are the norm — and they are happening at a pace that is often mind-boggling.
Some changes are thrust upon us:
Inflation / Consumer Price Index changes
New Taxes
Daylight Savings Time
When a Pumpkin Spice Latte was all the rage
… while other changes may be optional:
EVs (Electric vehicles)
Seasonal coffee flavours at Starbucks (still have to try the pumpkin spice latte)
New slip-on shoes without shoelaces (these seem like a great new idea, but are they cool?)
When its technology we’re talking about, change typically occurs because the new tech is faster, more user friendly or perhaps even cheaper:
LIGHT BULBS … replaced candles
AUTOMOBILES … replaced the horse & buggy
CALCULATORS … replaced the slide rule
The INTERNET … replaced encyclopedias
In all of these cases the technology change was DISRUPTIVE — the new tech replacing, or disrupting, the existing technology. Transition to the new tech was slow and somewhat predictable over time.
Today, there is a new disruptive tech that is sweeping the planet — and it has been an overnight sensation. Hundreds of millions of users ‘signed on’ in just a couple of months. It has both captivated the world and at the same time created a bit of fear with its insurgence.
The Power of Why 