George Couros's articles Teacher Life Innovation and Vinyl Records As I sit in my office, thinking about my blog post for the week, I’m listening to an album on my record player. It is probably not an artist you have heard of (Hayden), but he is one of my favorites. Now and then, the record skips, and you can hear some static, but there is a certain warmth Written by George Couros April 6, 2021April 6, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked Teacher Life Small Acts of Kindness Over Time My dad passed away eight years ago this past week. I think about him all of the time, and although it is tough to think he never met my kids, it warms my heart that I see him in my children every day. I feel closer to him every day, even after his passing. Every year since he has passed, I notic Written by George Couros March 30, 2021March 30, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked Teacher Life 3 Questions to Ask Your Community as a School Administrator I received this question from a new principal: “What are your thoughts on asking the right questions of middle school kids in what they want in their next principal? How do I extract the information I need to make me a better leader and assist me in providing these kids what they need and want Written by George Couros March 23, 2021March 23, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked Teacher Life What are the “basics” in education today? Some things I have been thinking about and questions I have been pondering. 1. When we talk about “learning” are we talking about the ability to do well in school or the ability to learn? To some, it might seem like a false dichotomy, but here is the way that I see it; if you help students be Written by George Couros March 16, 2021March 16, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked Teacher Life Beyond “Voice” to Contribution “We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.”Mother Teresa I was having an intriguing conversation with a group of educators on the idea of the importance of “voice” in the classroom related to the concepts Written by George Couros March 9, 2021March 9, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked Teacher Life The Importance of Reflection and Connection Time for Professional Learning I was recently asked the following question about professional learning being delivered through online spaces: Do you think that educators are becoming so comfortable with online professional learning that they might not want to go back to in-person events? When I first read this question, I imm Written by George Couros March 2, 2021March 2, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked Teacher Life “Empathy not at the expense of ourselves.” When I discuss the characteristics of the #InnovatorsMindset, the first trait shared is that of “empathy” because it leads to all of the other ideas. Looking at the image below, these characteristics are meant to be connected and not work in isolation. For example, empathy is necessary if you Written by George Couros February 23, 2021February 23, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked Teacher Life What Makes a Master Teacher #Podcast When I first started blogging, I wrote a post titled “What Makes a Master Teacher.” The fallacy of the title is that being a “master teacher” is about being in perpetual beta mode and growing as a learner and educator. No matter how good you are at teaching, there will always be areas of gro Written by George Couros February 18, 2021February 18, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked Teacher Life The Importance of Dwelling on Strengths Think of a time you received a compliment from a stranger, an acquaintance, or someone you know well. What was your reaction, and how long did it last? Did it give you a jolt of pride that quickly faded away, or was it something that stuck in your head and heart for an entire day or longer? Now Written by George Couros February 16, 2021February 16, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked Teacher Life 4 Questions to Support a Student’s Path to Personalized Success In 2018, I wrote a post titled “10 Core Values for Education” and came up with the following “10 Values” remixed from the values from Zappos. Here are the “values” I suggested: As I read the above, I feel these values apply more now than ever. Yet, the list was meant to be my own Written by George Couros February 9, 2021February 9, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked Teacher Life The Continued Struggle Between “Balance” and Technology Usage One of the things that I love having about a blog is not only the ability to share my thoughts at the moment but to go back and look at what I have shared in the past and how my thinking has changed or stayed the same. I was recently asked about my thoughts on using technology use in the classroom Written by George Couros February 2, 2021February 2, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked Teacher Life Distributed Leadership in the Decision-Making Process Years ago, as a principal, I was really excited about the possibility of implementing a new program in our school. I don’t want to say which one, but I had read a lot about it, and the main tenets of the program were and are something that I really believe in still to this day. I had contacted a Written by George Couros January 26, 2021January 26, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked Loading Load more
Teacher Life Innovation and Vinyl Records As I sit in my office, thinking about my blog post for the week, I’m listening to an album on my record player. It is probably not an artist you have heard of (Hayden), but he is one of my favorites. Now and then, the record skips, and you can hear some static, but there is a certain warmth Written by George Couros April 6, 2021April 6, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Teacher Life Small Acts of Kindness Over Time My dad passed away eight years ago this past week. I think about him all of the time, and although it is tough to think he never met my kids, it warms my heart that I see him in my children every day. I feel closer to him every day, even after his passing. Every year since he has passed, I notic Written by George Couros March 30, 2021March 30, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Teacher Life 3 Questions to Ask Your Community as a School Administrator I received this question from a new principal: “What are your thoughts on asking the right questions of middle school kids in what they want in their next principal? How do I extract the information I need to make me a better leader and assist me in providing these kids what they need and want Written by George Couros March 23, 2021March 23, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Teacher Life What are the “basics” in education today? Some things I have been thinking about and questions I have been pondering. 1. When we talk about “learning” are we talking about the ability to do well in school or the ability to learn? To some, it might seem like a false dichotomy, but here is the way that I see it; if you help students be Written by George Couros March 16, 2021March 16, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Teacher Life Beyond “Voice” to Contribution “We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.”Mother Teresa I was having an intriguing conversation with a group of educators on the idea of the importance of “voice” in the classroom related to the concepts Written by George Couros March 9, 2021March 9, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Teacher Life The Importance of Reflection and Connection Time for Professional Learning I was recently asked the following question about professional learning being delivered through online spaces: Do you think that educators are becoming so comfortable with online professional learning that they might not want to go back to in-person events? When I first read this question, I imm Written by George Couros March 2, 2021March 2, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Teacher Life “Empathy not at the expense of ourselves.” When I discuss the characteristics of the #InnovatorsMindset, the first trait shared is that of “empathy” because it leads to all of the other ideas. Looking at the image below, these characteristics are meant to be connected and not work in isolation. For example, empathy is necessary if you Written by George Couros February 23, 2021February 23, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Teacher Life What Makes a Master Teacher #Podcast When I first started blogging, I wrote a post titled “What Makes a Master Teacher.” The fallacy of the title is that being a “master teacher” is about being in perpetual beta mode and growing as a learner and educator. No matter how good you are at teaching, there will always be areas of gro Written by George Couros February 18, 2021February 18, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Teacher Life The Importance of Dwelling on Strengths Think of a time you received a compliment from a stranger, an acquaintance, or someone you know well. What was your reaction, and how long did it last? Did it give you a jolt of pride that quickly faded away, or was it something that stuck in your head and heart for an entire day or longer? Now Written by George Couros February 16, 2021February 16, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Teacher Life 4 Questions to Support a Student’s Path to Personalized Success In 2018, I wrote a post titled “10 Core Values for Education” and came up with the following “10 Values” remixed from the values from Zappos. Here are the “values” I suggested: As I read the above, I feel these values apply more now than ever. Yet, the list was meant to be my own Written by George Couros February 9, 2021February 9, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Teacher Life The Continued Struggle Between “Balance” and Technology Usage One of the things that I love having about a blog is not only the ability to share my thoughts at the moment but to go back and look at what I have shared in the past and how my thinking has changed or stayed the same. I was recently asked about my thoughts on using technology use in the classroom Written by George Couros February 2, 2021February 2, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Teacher Life Distributed Leadership in the Decision-Making Process Years ago, as a principal, I was really excited about the possibility of implementing a new program in our school. I don’t want to say which one, but I had read a lot about it, and the main tenets of the program were and are something that I really believe in still to this day. I had contacted a Written by George Couros January 26, 2021January 26, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
