Category: Personal
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Three Years
A personal post, three years into Covid-19 in China, and three years in this role. Some highs, some lows, some “I don’t knows” and some “where to gos?”. I wish I’d written more of this down along the way, but it has been intense, and there will be plenty forgotten.
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The Posts Unblogged & A Life Less Ordinary
It has been tough to blog over the past year or so. My list of unfinished drafts is a post in itself.
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The Buoyant Force: L2 Talk & FOEN Workshop
This was a great challenge during the Learning2 Conference last week in Nanjing. It was my first time at the conference and I was looking for an experience that would push me and provide something to think about. I presented this short talk, and an extended session on Global Ignorance, Factfulness and Data-Informed Inquiry. You…
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A Megadose of Vitamin Sea
Transition years can be full-on and exhausting. New country, new role, new friends, kids, colleagues, tech, language, environment, expectations, opportunities. Embracing the new and trying to avoid old traps. Parenting through transitions and creating new memories. Overcoming challenges when things go wrong or culture shock hits. We’ve been fortunate to land in a city and…
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Make It Easier To Do Better Things
A simple mantra, but one I hold onto as a learning/tech coach, leaned on as PK-12 Director of Learning and will cling to next year as MYP Coordinator. It was the “key concept” of my #HackTheMYP IBAP Conference session in 2017 and over the two years since I’ve been thinking about it a lot. When…
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Jumping the Great Firewall
Way back in 2005, skater Danny Way jumped the Great Wall of China… on his second attempt. The first ended up with a broken ankle. The next day, he back on the board and nailed it. Welcome to China! Now we’re a few months into our new life in Beijing, I feel like we’re sticking…
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My Best Books, 2017-18
This year has been high on transition, anxiety and exhaustion, and very low on sleep. On the plus side, we’re feeling positive about the move to an amazing school, and the sleepless hours have meant even more reading than normal. Here is a selection of the books that have kept me going and inspired me…
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Life Coaching & International Educators
A year ago we decided to move: the administrators’ timeline at our school is before summer for the year-after-next. It was a very tough decision to leave behind a great school and this life that we love so much in Japan but the timing is right and although I find the current admin role rewarding,…
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Let’s All Meet Up In The Year 2000… (on #Factfulness)
… won’t it be strange when we’re all fully grown? November 1995: I’d just turned 15, Britpop was at its peak (who did you prefer, Oasis or Blur?) and Pulp released this singalong anthem. We loved it. ………..o0O0o……….. I couldn’t predict the year 2000, even in 1995. I had no idea I’d be ringing in…
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Which Way Next?
As hiring season begins for international schools, it is really starting to sink in that this will be our seventh and final year at CA and in Japan. This conversation is happening all over the world right now as international educators decide if they will renew their contracts or stay on longer. In our cross-culture…
Wayfinder Learning Lab - Stephen Taylor 