Last time, I wrote about how many of the online tools we use most — email or news or social media, for example — have addiction mechanics sewn right into them. Like slot machines, the apps and devices and services that crowd our lives tend to give more than they take. These media don’t give […]
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Slot Machines
On their faces, slot machines are kind of dumb. You pay money to pull a lever, and most of the time all you get is a few seconds of spinning icons. But then sometimes, you win a little. Very infrequently, you win a ton. Percentage-wise, it’s a losing scenario. If your goal is to make […]
How to Build Resilience, Part 3: Adaptability
During these past weeks of reflecting on resilience’s three pillars, I’ve started to see a relationship between the three, how they really do act like the legs on a stool. If you’ve got a deep sense of purpose but not an acceptance of unpleasant realities then you’ll err toward unchecked idealism. Unchecked idealism happens when […]
500 Blog Posts: A Case Study in Resilience
Recently, this blog hit a cool mark: 500 blog posts. I remember, years ago, reading a blog post from a friend of mine named Corbett Barr, on the day that he had reached 500 blog posts. At the time I was at about 200, and I was like, “Dang. That’s cool.” So, here we are: […]
Four Traits of Rockstar Teacher Teams
How could we make teaching teams purpose-laden and a ton of fun? Perhaps a book from the 1980s can help. Tracy Kidder’s The Soul of a New Machine (1981) is unlikely to be on your recommended professional development reading list this summer. First of all, it is not new. (Actually, it’s less new than my […]