top of page
May 28, 2020

#125



During these unprecedented times, I feel I am not simply listening to hear, but - akin to the Chinese character - listening more intently and find myself (in both personal and professional contexts) listening more, and speaking less.

In The New York Times article, Talk Less. Listen More. Here’s How., Murphy states that “It’s not about merely holding your peace while someone else holds forth. Quite the opposite. A lot of listening has to do with how you respond — the degree to which you facilitate the clear expression of another person’s thoughts and, in the process, crystallize your own.” She continues “ … to listen poorly, selectively or not at all limits your understanding of the world and prevents you from becoming the best you can be.” While worldwide restrictions have been in place due to the outbreak of Covid-19, I have been struck with the plethora of workshops and webinars conducted via on-line platforms. There has been a marked increase in opportunities to not just learn, but rather - with more time on our hands - to reflect more deeply on that which is being shared, to crystalize prior learning and expand one’s knowledge/conceptual understanding and more.


  • Pragmatically speaking, I very much - in line with my current role as Head of Admissions - appreciated OpenApply’s Admissions Helping Admissions: A Conversation About Enrolment Strategies (March 26, 2020), Finalisite’s offering, Best Practices for Messaging During COVID-19: How to Keep Spirits and Engagement High (April 2, 2020) and OpenApply’s Admissions Helping Admissions: A Conversation on Early Childhood Admissions (April 16, 2020). These three each had practical ideas (especially with regard to information shared by those in schools in Vietnam and China who entered lockdown before us) for moving forwards virtually with the admissions process


  • Entitled Communicating in Challenging Times, Abrams’ webinar offered to EARCOS schools over three sessions in early April, shared some key concepts to keep in mind relating to problem solving, resistance, and managing resistance. I appreciated her sharing Rock’s SCARF Model (SCARF model for collaborating with and influencing others). SCARF is an acronym covering the domains of Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness and Fairness and looks through the lens of reward or threat response in social situations.


  • In terms of education, in its broader sense, I very much enjoyed the The Inquiry Educators Summit with wonderful keynotes from Sugatra Mitra, Kath Murdoch, Jo Boaler, Kevin Bartlett, and other practitioners from around the world. The summit provided multiple opportunities to expand upon prior knowledge and let it resonate as well as make me aware of new concepts.


  • I love Chris Gabury’s visual representation (see below) of Kath Murdoch’s keynote webinar, Schools as inquiry communities: Building a Strong Culture of Enquiry in Your School.



  • Kevin Bartlett’s keynote address entitled, Same game, new playbook, referenced the Common Ground Collaborative. Having attended a workshop some years ago in the early days of CGC, it was a wonderful opportunity to revisit the key concepts and philosophy therein.


With summer vacation looking very different from usual, the list of books/materials to review on my to read list (as shared in my January 2020 post, Reflections and Intentions) keeps expanding and now includes, thanks to recent webinars:

As we move forward through these uncertain times, I encourage you to take advantage of this time to listen/to read so as to learn more and become the best you can be.



References:

Comentarii

  • Twitter Clean Grey
  • LinkedIn Clean Grey
bottom of page