Metanoia Shifting Thoughts on Leading, Learning, and Teaching

ryanbretag 10:08 am | Last year during Leadership Day 2009, I talked about the need for Different Leader. The thoughts in this post still require much work in schools today, and this year’s post builds upon it by providing a practical idea for becoming a Different Leader. On this Leadership Day 2010, I issue this…

ryanbretag 02:14 pm | “It’s these changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes Nothing remains quite the same With all of our running and all of our cunning If we couldn’t laugh we would all go insane” Jimmy’s (yes, I feel like we are on a first name basis though the courts disagree) words Changes…

ryanbretag 02:29 pm | Two months ago, I received an email from a former student now a teacher. She simply said “Hi Mr. Bretag! I just want you to know that I am a teacher and I had the desk removed from our classroom”. During the past month, I had a former student now…

ryanbretag 10:15 pm | The professional development and student design space in our building is fast approaching completion, and we are exploring names for it. With all the creativity that goes into the design and philosophy of a space, it is time to finalize  a name. As we know, language and words bring forth…

ryanbretag 02:33 pm | There are a lot of claims about this generation of students. From opening Facebook for classroom use to heavy student centered classrooms, ideas flow from good intentioned adults about what our students want and what they need. But, are these informed opinions stemming from discussions with a wide-range of students…

ryanbretag 07:48 pm | It always amazes me how little we utilize the pathways in school buildings. Whether it is only seeing these as transition points from A to B or a mindset that sees learning tethered only to the classroom, this area is often neglected outside of a few token art pieces, an…