Today I came across this wiki. It provides a good example of resources that are being shared across an ICT cluster in the North Island of New Zealand. There are a number of movies embedded on this site. It is definitely worth monitoring for those of you who are trying to push education forward for the future.
I am currently writing a newsletter for educators on the the topic of student self management. I remain convinced that educators need to let go, to involve students in their own learning. If you are interested in receiving this newsletter go to Think Beyond and subscribe to receive the newsletter. It should be available in the next fortnight.
Sunday, 14 September 2008
Thursday, 11 September 2008
Portfolio Careers
In the last week I have had the opportunity to work with some wonderful educational leaders, to listen to some experienced speakers, to read words of wisdom from some of the worlds greatest leaders, and to interview prospective applicants for a CEO position. My life is diverse and full on - I have a portfolio of interests and jobs and it is simply splendid.
I reflected on this as I read the latest Leader to Leader newsletter, where Charles Handy talked about his life, and questioned of "the viability and the desirability of the lifetime contracts then offered by most large corporations and, ultimately, to my advocacy of what I was to call portfolio or spliced careers." In the future many will be mixing and matching aspects of their lives, weaving in and out of opportunities; considering profit with social justice; and balancing business with recreation.
Amongst other competencies, a portfolio career requires flexibility in thinking, and the ability to take risks. What a shame that teaching professions around the world are often so risk averse. In New Zealand the latest move is to give teachers more 'units', payments to encourage them to stay in teaching and provide a career path. Will this preserve status quo thinking? What about the opportunity for teachers to have portfolio careers? Do all those who work with students need to be teachers? How can we reward teachers to take risks and think outside the square? What about the opportunity for teachers to be self employed, contracting their skills to schools? What about the opportunity for principals to job share - for this to be easy rather than virtually impossible? Let's start thinking creatively.
Portfolio careers are on the rise. As one who has such a career all I can say is...I'm loving it.
I reflected on this as I read the latest Leader to Leader newsletter, where Charles Handy talked about his life, and questioned of "the viability and the desirability of the lifetime contracts then offered by most large corporations and, ultimately, to my advocacy of what I was to call portfolio or spliced careers." In the future many will be mixing and matching aspects of their lives, weaving in and out of opportunities; considering profit with social justice; and balancing business with recreation.
Amongst other competencies, a portfolio career requires flexibility in thinking, and the ability to take risks. What a shame that teaching professions around the world are often so risk averse. In New Zealand the latest move is to give teachers more 'units', payments to encourage them to stay in teaching and provide a career path. Will this preserve status quo thinking? What about the opportunity for teachers to have portfolio careers? Do all those who work with students need to be teachers? How can we reward teachers to take risks and think outside the square? What about the opportunity for teachers to be self employed, contracting their skills to schools? What about the opportunity for principals to job share - for this to be easy rather than virtually impossible? Let's start thinking creatively.
Portfolio careers are on the rise. As one who has such a career all I can say is...I'm loving it.
Saturday, 23 August 2008
Looking to the future
DOne of the thoughts that really got me thinking today was the following provocative comment I found on The DaVinci Institute's website:
"People who live to be 65 today in the United States live an average of an additional 18 years. Over the first two decades of the 21st Century, because of advances in health care, nutrition, exercise, wealth, and biotechnologies of various kinds, this average will increase toward 30 years, then 40 years after age 65. How will we reinvent the third phase of life now called retirement?" - Glen Hiemstra -Futurist.Com
What a fascinating question for us all to ponder. We can already see the trend that many people are working well after their 65th birthday. Soon governments will not be giving retirement pensions to anyone younger than seventy - we will all still be working at this age. For some this may be working part time, or having a portfolio of jobs to keep us interested, and to give back to society. Even the wealthy will not retire, but choose to occupy their time in a range of different ways. Will retirement exist? Maybe we should remove the word from our vocabulary all together.
"People who live to be 65 today in the United States live an average of an additional 18 years. Over the first two decades of the 21st Century, because of advances in health care, nutrition, exercise, wealth, and biotechnologies of various kinds, this average will increase toward 30 years, then 40 years after age 65. How will we reinvent the third phase of life now called retirement?" - Glen Hiemstra -Futurist.Com
What a fascinating question for us all to ponder. We can already see the trend that many people are working well after their 65th birthday. Soon governments will not be giving retirement pensions to anyone younger than seventy - we will all still be working at this age. For some this may be working part time, or having a portfolio of jobs to keep us interested, and to give back to society. Even the wealthy will not retire, but choose to occupy their time in a range of different ways. Will retirement exist? Maybe we should remove the word from our vocabulary all together.
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