Leadership in American History

Last week, eight teacher leaders and I headed off for Atlanta for the NCSS conference (www.socialstudies.org). Bonnie, Beth, Kathleen, Angela, Jennifer, Matt, Loretta, Carolyn, and I had a great time attending sessions, lectures, and tours. We also enjoyed some great food and had fun exploring the beautiful city of Atlanta.

Nellie Perera and Lauren Appel (Henry Street Settlement) and I ran a hands-on session on tableau that had everyone up on their feet laughing and learning at the early hour of 8:00AM. It was a lot of fun, and we were joined by Carolyn, Angela, Beth and Matt who came to lend their support.

The absolute highlight for me was the talk by Greg Mortenson, the subject and author of “Three Cups of Tea.” He came to the conference straight from the ICU in Montana (against his doctor’s advice).

Mr. Mortenson was engaging, humble and sincere as he recounted the story of the first school he helped build in Korphe, Pakistan (with funds he raised by selling everything he owned as well as funds raied by school children and others) and the over 300 more schools he has built in Pakistan and Afghanistan since. It is an amazing story. To learn more about it or to get a Pennies for Peace fundraising project going in your school, visit www.penniesforpeace.org/ or https://www.ikat.org/.

I was very fortunate to attend the National Middle School Association Conference in Indianapolis from November 4-7 (www.nmsa.org/). This is a fabulous conference. I heard some amazing speakers and attended great sessions.  Here are some of the highlights:

Talk by Daniel Pink: This was amazing! Mr. Pink spoke about the economic imperative of helping students develop the right brain. While the left brain activities which focus on linear thinking, are still important, they are no longer enough. Most tasks that require such thinking can either be outsourced or computerized. What is more important now is the creative thinking afforded by the right brain. This includes things like understanding context, feeling empathy, identifying problems, and thinking outside the box for many possible solutions.  It made so much sense and also scared everyone in the audience to hear how our education system tends to favor left brain over right. 

Talk by Alan November (go to www.novemberlearning.com): Mr. November, who focuses on the internet and ways to use it well,  spoke about the need to explore the globabl perspective in all we do.  He shared how to look for foreign websites when we research a topic to see what people around the world think of that topic. For example, reading an article by a British historian on the American Revolution.

I also attended workshops on topics ranging from understanding the adolescent brain to setting up an effective advisory program.

Nellie Perera (Henry Street Settlement) and I ran a session, “Demystifying Historical Documents With Drama” that was very well-attended with people ready and willing to participate in our tableau activity. It was a lot of fun.

This is maybe the best conference going. I encourage everyone to go to their conference in Baltimore next year!