Getting Unstuck – Cultivating Curiosity

Here on Getting Unstuck, we've focused on companies and their leadership only when we're aware that they're doing something extraordinary in the area of change. So we were pleased in this episode to talk with Rick Woldenberg about his experiences of successfully navigating the choppy COVID waters for his businesses, customer, and staff. Rick is the Chairman and CEO of three education focused companies.

Here on Getting Unstuck, we've focused on companies and their leadership only when we're aware that they're doing something extraordinary in the area of change. So we were pleased in this episode to talk with Rick Woldenberg about his experiences of successfully navigating the choppy COVID waters for his businesses, customer, and staff. Rick is the Chairman and CEO of three education focused companies.

Innovate within our current schools? Transform education completely? "The reality is, we have to do both," argues Professor Tom Hatch, a professor at Teachers College, Columbia University and Director of the National Center for Restructuring Education, Schools, and Teaching (NCREST). "We have to improve the schools we have, but at the same time, we have to transform the education system so that we're supporting the development of all students."

Innovate within our current schools? Transform education completely? "The reality is, we have to do both," argues Professor Tom Hatch, a professor at Teachers College, Columbia University and Director of the National Center for Restructuring Education, Schools, and Teaching (NCREST). "We have to improve the schools we have, but at the same time, we have to transform the education system so that we're supporting the development of all students."

In this episode, we hear from Grace McGuirk, a Registered Dietitian with a Master's Degree in Public Health. Grace is the Evaluation Manager and Nutrition Advisor with the Sage Garden Project, a program that provides staff, equipment, and training to high-need school garden programs to help students experience standards-based, grade-appropriate lessons as they grow, prepare, and share nourishing food.

In this episode, we hear from Grace McGuirk, a Registered Dietitian with a Master's Degree in Public Health. Grace is the Evaluation Manager and Nutrition Advisor with the Sage Garden Project, a program that provides staff, equipment, and training to high-need school garden programs to help students experience standards-based, grade-appropriate lessons as they grow, prepare, and share nourishing food.

Children of color are held in virtual bondage through the negative stereotypes that define them as threatening, violent, criminal, poor, and academically disengaged. Children of color internalize these stereotypes as guilt before they even enter the school. For many children, these stereotypes become a script that influences their behavior and inhibits their ability to be engaged learners. Guest Alexs Pate explains how we can rewrite the script and bridge that gap to create an environment of "innocence."

Children of color are held in virtual bondage through the negative stereotypes that define them as threatening, violent, criminal, poor, and academically disengaged. Children of color internalize these stereotypes as guilt before they even enter the school. For many children, these stereotypes become a script that influences their behavior and inhibits their ability to be engaged learners. Guest Alexs Pate explains how we can rewrite the script and bridge that gap to create an environment of "innocence."

According to author and education researcher, Heather Clayton Staker, "schools can be a microcosm of the world that we want our children to grow up to create themselves. One starting point is to shift the power structure so that children are given agency and ownership to drive their own learning. Part of the shift from a teacher-led to a student-driven mindset will come from giving students multiple learning pathways and empowering them to set their own goals and follow them."

Even without COVID-19, leading a class, school or district isn't easy. You have to be focused on what matters most. Key to that, as argued here by Superintendent of Port Washington, NY schools, Dr. Michael Hynes, is knowing your North Star – your values, why you're going what you're doing, what you're trying to achieve, and what your non-negotiables are.